Panning for Gold with Girls of the Golden West
Limelight caught up with John Adams and Peter Sellars to find out what an opera set in the Californian Gold Rush has to say about Donald Trump’s America.
Limelight caught up with John Adams and Peter Sellars to find out what an opera set in the Californian Gold Rush has to say about Donald Trump’s America.
A special summer holiday bumper edition, the January/February 2018 issue of Limelight Magazine features Barrie Kosky on his daring production of The Nose. Plus, we reveal our 2017 Artists of the Year and chat with the Orava Quartet.
John Adams’ new opera proves there’s gold in them thar girls.
In Townsville for the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, the pianist pulls one composer apart and puts the other back together. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Daniel Barenboim and Charles Dutoit share their insights, plus we look at John Adams, Alma Mahler, Rostropovich and more.
To celebrate John Adams' 70th birthday, Andrew Mogrelia will conduct scenes from Nixon in China for Opera Australia.
Steve Davislim's Tito will also be among the highlights to catch the ears of Aussie audiences.
Opera Australia performs at Vivid Live for the first time with a concert featuring music by Adams, Dessner and Greenwood.
The Finnish musician may not intend to commit murder but he certainly hopes for redemption. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
John Adams frequently references tradition in his music, using contemporary sonorities and forms to comment on the past. His most recent major orchestral work, Scheherazade.2, is only on the surface a nod to Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic poem, taking a more contemporary approach in telling the famous story. Remarking on the disturbing violence committed against women in stories from The Arabian Nights, Adams was inspired to reinvent the principal tale, imagining a strong and empowered ‘modern’ Scheherazade. The composer gives voice to this powerful retelling in a massive four-movement work that’s part symphony, part concerto, with a dramatic solo violin part embodying the Scheherazade character (another cursory nod to Rimsky-Korsakov’s original). The work receives here its premiere recording with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and David Robertson (also Chief Conductor of the SSO) with the soloist for whom it was written, Leila Josefowicz. Josefowicz’s performance is outstanding, negotiating the virtuosic solo part with passion, assurance and an ironclad tone. She slides, ducks and weaves around an often-aggressive orchestra that’s given an exotic flavour thanks to the addition of a Cimbalom – a Hungarian dulcimer. The St. Louis orchestra’s sound is simply magical and perfectly balanced in this recording under Robertson’s expert direction.
The American composer talks about new works, the loneliness of composing and the future of music. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
★★★★½ Robertson delivers a tale well told, whichever way you look at it.
★★★★☆ Eclectic musical mix bodes well for ASQ’s latest iteration. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in