Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

Last Night in L.A. - Adams Revisited

When Disney Hall opened in October 2003, the feature of one of the series of opening week concerts was the premiere of a new work by John Adams, Dharma at Big Sur, given the place of honor as the first new work to be performed in Disney Hall. Dharma was given some decent-to-good reviews, but reactions were mixed. It was certainly quirky: a concerto, in effect, for electric violin (of all things), a work requiring �just intonation� so that to many ears it sounded a little out of tune, a work with loud wailings of sound.

A major problem, it turned out, was the amplification system in Disney Hall; the acoustics were great, with clear sound, for unamplified music, but using speakers created large sonic problems. It took over a year, with several changes of equipment, before the problems were solved. For the closing work of the second Philharmonic season in Disney Hall, with the electronics tamed, and perhaps with orchestra members more attuned (pun) to the sounds of the Adams composition, Dharma at Big Sur appeared as a glorious work.

Play a game with me: try to think of adjectives describing Adams� music. I doubt that you would use words like �emotional�, �free�, �ecstatic�, �relaxed�, even an occasional �vulgarity�. So much of his work has a sense, to me, of reserve, of polite intellectualism. But Dharma breaks down all the fences. Parts of Dharma even sound like a tone poem, a recreation in sound of the seen world, in this case of fog lifting along a rocky, windy coast. Adams has said that he thought of three people in composing the work: Jack Kerouac and his Big Sur, Lou Harrison and his music, and Terry Riley (who gave the name of his ranch to the second part of Dharma at Big Sur). Tracy Silverman was once again the soloist for this work, roaming the stage, circling in ecstasy with the music, gathering himself in meditation to gain force for the final set of musical heights. This is certainly not staid, conventional concert hall music, not at all what your grandparents would expect.

Not everyone in the usual sold-out audience was entranced. A loud �boo� was heard before the waves of applause began. It�s a good sign when music generates a strong reaction.

The concert began with another recall from the opening week, this time from the first concert, the one that explored the sonic properties of Disney Hall. The concert began on an empty stage. Salonen walked out to conduct. Then you could hear the sound of strings coming from outside the auditorium, establishing a background of music. Then the trumpet from the top balcony at the rear asked the famous question in five notes, from Charles Ives� The Unanswered Question (1906). The four flutes by the organ loft at the opposite end of the hall attempted to provide the answer.

After intermission, the concert concluded with the complete Daphnis and Chloe (1912) of Ravel. Salonen made the most of all of the colors of the orchestration. The closing celebration became a bacchanale.

On Sunday, June 5, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will repeat this concert in Avery Fisher Hall. I wouldn�t try to guess how things will sound in the hall (probably quite muted and rather ordinary), but those of you who think you know Adams� work should try to go and hear a different side of the composer. As part of the annual missionary trip to the heathen, the LA Phil and Salonen also appear at Fisher on Friday, June 3, in a concert of Shostakovich (the first piano concerto and the tenth symphony) with a Mussorgsky opening.

posted by Jerry Zinser 5/30/2005