John Adams’ recent spell as artist in residence with Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra and Paavo Järvi has resulted in a compact, concentrated disc that suggests there was a mutual meeting of musical minds during his tenure in the Swiss municipality.

With matter-of-fact directness, the disc is titled John Adams. And why not? Adams, who celebrated his 75th birthday earlier this year, has long earned his right to be his own best claim for attention. Despite its concision – only four works are featured; two of which take by far the lion’s share of the 54-minute playing time – or perhaps because of it, this authentically played compendium adroitly serves dual functions.

For those already familiar with the (once maverick, now mainstream) American’s European-influenced signature, it’s a vibrant reminder of Adams at his most idiosyncratic and incisive. For newcomers, it’s a perfect introduction to a composer constantly interrogating his inheritances from the Old and the New Worlds and seeking common ground between them.

Featured here are a quartet of defining works dating from 1985 to 2003. The most recent, the three-part