John Adams: Absolute Jest & Naive and Sentimental Music

Featuring

Peter Oundjian
Alex Redington
Jonathan Stone
Hélène Clément
John Myerscough
Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Doric String Quartet
John Adams

Did you know?

1/7

Composer's Artistic Vision

The central concept for "Absolute Jest" — writing a work heavily based on material by another composer — was suggested to John Adams by hearing Stravinsky's neoclassical ballet "Pulcinella."

Compositional Technique

"Absolute Jest" concludes with an exhilarating adrenaline rush, taking its cue from the pulsating repeated harmony that opens Beethoven's "Waldstein" Sonata.

Composer's Artistic Vision

John Adams interprets the "jest" in "Absolute Jest" not as humor, but in its Latin meaning of "gesta": doings, deeds, or exploits, indicating an exercise of wit through imagination.

Composition History

After its premiere, John Adams revised "Absolute Jest" by composing an entirely new first part, amounting to about 400 bars of fresh music.

Compositional Technique

The majority of the Beethoven material in "Absolute Jest" comes from his string quartets, but also includes allusions to the "Hammerklavier" Sonata and the Eighth Symphony.

Composition History

John Adams's "Absolute Jest" was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony to celebrate its centenary and is inspired by the music of Beethoven.

Compositional Technique

John Adams added a quartet of soloists to "Absolute Jest" to emphasize a "hyperspace rate" of virtuosity that an orchestra alone could not adequately convey.