John Adams

Film Review: “Where the Devil Roams” — Dark Carny Horror

November 3, 2023
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The Adams Family may be a low budget regional filmmaking collective, but it continues to raise the bar on horror art cinema.

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Classical Album Reviews: “For Clara” and “Bach Minimaliste”

September 26, 2023
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Reviews of Hélène Grimaud’s latest homage to Clara Schumann and La Tempête investigates seeming stylistic overlaps in the music of J. S. Bach, Henryk Górecki, Jehan Alain, Knut Nystedt, and John Adams.

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Classical Album Review: “John Adams” — Mastering the Style of an Iconic American Composer

October 3, 2022
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This recording presents one of the most lucid and well-programmed portraits of John Adams to emerge, well, in a long while.

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Film Review: “Hellbender” — Witches in the Woods

June 1, 2022
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Hellbender is not just a fabulous indie film about witches, it’s also an original coming-of-age horror movie.

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Classical Album Reviews: John Adams’ Chamber Symphonies — Built on Trust

August 3, 2021
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BMOP’s performances of three John Adams chamber symphonies, all conducted by music director Gil Rose, offer welcome, distinctive takes on the triptych.

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Classical CD Reviews: Peter Oundjian conducts John Adams and Leonard Bernstein conducts Mahler

April 28, 2018
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Peter Oundjian and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra deliver a great album, smartly programmed and played to the hilt. Leonard Bernstein’s live Mahler was often electrifying; this performance, even with some cracked notes and hairy transitions, certainly is.

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Classical Concert Review: St. Lawrence String Quartet plays Beethoven, Adams, and Sibelius

March 21, 2018
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It is, clearly, a crafty Beethoven remix and the ways John Adams assimilates the older composer’s language into his latest style are fascinating.

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Concert Review: John Adams’ “Scheherezade.2” at Symphony Hall

March 2, 2018
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This weekend’s concert fires on all cylinders. Don’t miss it.

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Classical CD Reviews: Kamus Quartet’s “Homunculus” and Jeroen Van Veen plays Adams

January 22, 2018
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The nearly 10 year wait for the premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s string quartet Homunculus was worth it.

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Commentary: Top Classical Recordings of 2016

December 17, 2016
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I make no claims to have listened to everything released in 2016; here are my picks for the top classical recordings of the year.

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