Adams: Absolute Jest & Grand Pianola Music

John Adams, San Francisco Symphony & Michael Tilson Thomas

Genre: Classical
Release Date: 2015-08-14
Explicitness: notExplicit
Country: USA
Track Count: 11
Album Price: 9.99
℗ 2015 San Francisco Symphony

Tracks

	Title	Artist	Time
1	Absolute Jest: I. Beginning	San Francisco Symphony, St. Lawrence String Quartet & Michael Tilson Thomas	10:35
2	Absolute Jest: II. Presto	San Francisco Symphony, St. Lawrence String Quartet & Michael Tilson Thomas	3:30
3	Absolute Jest: III. Lo stesso	San Francisco Symphony, St. Lawrence String Quartet & Michael Tilson Thomas	1:07
4	Absolute Jest: IV. Meno mosso	San Francisco Symphony, St. Lawrence String Quartet & Michael Tilson Thomas	3:18
5	Absolute Jest: V. Vivacissimo	San Francisco Symphony, St. Lawrence String Quartet & Michael Tilson Thomas	1:49
6	Absolute Jest: VI. Prestissimo	San Francisco Symphony, St. Lawrence String Quartet & Michael Tilson Thomas	5:20
7	Grand Pianola Music: Ia. Fast	John Adams, San Francisco Symphony, Synergy Vocals, Orli Shaham & Marc-André Hamelin	15:23
8	Grand Pianola Music: Ib. Slow	John Adams, San Francisco Symphony, Synergy Vocals, Orli Shaham & Marc-André Hamelin	7:46
9	Grand Pianola Music: II. On th	John Adams, San Francisco Symphony, Synergy Vocals, Orli Shaham & Marc-André Hamelin	8:39
10	San Francisco Symphony Records	San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas & John Adams	4:47

Reviews

Not too bad

3
By Boolez

I have misgivings anythime composers borrow or attempt to rewrite music from the past. Absolute Jest isn't a complete faliure, it gets the job done in a non offending way. Adams has always been hit or miss with me now that he's officially shirked off the minimallist tendicies of the past. This was written to be a crowd pleaser, and as such doesn't challenge the players or listener all that much. MTT et all play it well enough to warrent at least one listening. -Bz
Yes! This is s good one!!!

5
By Gowdie

I didn't get to see the world premiere of John Adams' "Absolute Jest" in San Fransisco in 2012, but I did see the performance of this piece a few days later at Carnegie Hall, Which I'd like to think is close enough. I'm so glad this release has come out. "Absolute Jest" is not only one of John's best works, it also has a vitality, a groove and a spirit that is intoxicating. With all the hard work and intellect that it took to compose, this work makes a visceral impact on any listener who hears it. And that is the whole point of music making! Well done MTT and SFS!
Really Good

5
By JackRSkellington

I was waiting for this one...the discussion about "fragments of Beethoven" made me nervous. I was expecting some kind of ill-conceived homage or mashup like the weirdo Radio Rewrite or ReComposed Four Seasons projects. This however is 95% Adams and clearly he's doing what we all do in taking bits of great music and messing with it in our minds. But most people aren't as good a composer or craftsman as Adams is. Great stuff...surprised. One of his strongest recent efforts.