Track Listing

1. Tromba Lontana - BBC SOAdams.
2. Violin Concerto - BBC SOAdams.
3. The Wound-Dresser - BBC SOAdams.

Product Details

• Released on: 2002-06-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

From Amazon.co.uk
In a live concert of a single composer's music, one might feel slightly overpowered by the similitude of each piece. Indeed this could happen if the composer in question is considered part of the minimalist tradition. However, with this immaculately presented disc of works by John Adams, which was recorded live in London's Barbican Hall, there is enough contrast to propel the listener to the edge of their seat.

Aside from the music itself, the production and engineering qualities are simply superb for a live recording. Tromba Lontana (Distant Trumpet) is a short four-minute work but one that will surely win over contemporary music detractors--heartfelt in the extreme and full of verve when one remembers it was performed in London four days after the September 11 disaster. The Violin Concerto is technically extremely demanding and in the first movement, the virtuosity of the violin is juxtaposed with a continually undulating orchestral melody. The cadenza is as good as some of the greats and leads calmly into the slow Chaconne movement. The sudden explosion of the soloist's semiquavers in the final movement rank as one of the most exciting introductions to any concerto. The last piece on the disc is a soulful monologue of a nurse's experience during the American Civil War--a fabulous finale to a tremendous recording. --Dominic Sewell