John Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives & Harmonielehre

Featuring

Giancarlo Guerrero
Nashville Symphony
John Adams

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Composer's Artistic Vision

John Adams describes his work My Father Knew Charles Ives as "a piece of musical autobiography, an homage and encomium to a composer whose influence on me has been huge."

Composition History

The title My Father Knew Charles Ives owes something to Morton Feldman's piece I Met Heine on the Rue Fürstenberg, which John Adams describes as of "similarly challenged authenticity."

Composer's Artistic Vision

John Adams described himself as 'a Minimalist who is bored with Minimalism' when he completed Harmonium in 1981, leading to his creative shift in Harmonielehre.

Composer's Artistic Vision

John Adams stated about Harmonielehre, "I'm not trying to teach anyone harmony. This is the culmination - so far - of my teaching myself about harmony."

Performer Biography

The Nashville Symphony, led by music director Giancarlo Guerrero, performs over 160 concerts annually and has earned 13 GRAMMY Awards, including two for Best Orchestral Performance.

Compositional Technique

Harmonielehre is a 40-minute symphony-in-all-but-name that John Adams describes as "a statement of belief in the power of tonality at a time when I was uncertain about its future."