John Adams spoke at tonight's Music on the Edge concert at Pitt. He said some interesting things, but his comment about this moderately well attended concert being like the "old days" showed how removed he is from the trenches of presenting new music concerts. Adams' traveled to Pittsburgh from New York where his opera "Doctor Atomic" is being presented by the Metropolitan Opera. Comparing that venue to a concert in Bellefield Auditorium is like going from Washington DC to Fairbanks Alaska. The NY Times has a good video of the "Atomic" production.
Tonight, Adams recounted his generative ideas for "Shaker Loops" (performed on the program) and answered some audience questions about composing in the 20th/21st centuries and his creative relationship with opera.
- He defended the difficulty of being a composer in America because the current composers must find their own voice, as opposed to Mozart and Schubert who could write (better than anyone else) in an inherited and relevant style.
- He talked about the modularity of Shaker Loops and how it began as a failed string quartet, morphing through a modular organization of repeated loops dependent on a conductor for pacing, becoming the "written out" version that is performed and recorded now.
- And he admitted that he doesn't like to go to operas, preferring instead to listen at home with a favorite recording.
He also plugged his new autobiography and suggested reading the chapters under "Faulty Circuits" for more information on how he developed as a composer.
In addition to the concert's concluding performance of "Shaker Loops," Jonny Greenwood's "Superhet Popcorn Receiver," Amy Williams' "Cineshape 2," and Roger Zahab's "vibrant life" were presented by Pittsburgh freelance musicians and University students.
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