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John Adams: Violin Concerto

4/27/2018, 3 Tracks, 33:09

Featuring

  • David Robertson
  • Leila Josefowicz
  • Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
  • John Adams

Did you know?

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Compositional Technique

The second movement of the Violin Concerto features a chaconne, an antique musical device used in Western music for over four centuries, representing an emotional archetype.

Source: Booklet

Performer Biography

Violinist Leila Josefowicz has dedicated the majority of her creative life to playing new music and has performed John Adams's Violin Concerto nearly 100 times.

Source: Booklet

Performer Biography

The St. Louis Symphony, founded in 1880, is the second-oldest orchestra in the United States and is known for its Grammy Award-winning recordings and international tours.

Source: Booklet

Composer's Artistic Vision

Composer John Adams's Violin Concerto addresses the challenge of making a single violin line resonate above a mass of instruments, embracing the instrument's visceral intensity.

Source: Booklet

Recording & Production

This recording was made in September and October 2016 at Powell Hall in St. Louis, MO, and was underwritten in part by New Music USA.

Source: Booklet

Composer's Artistic Vision

For John Adams, a single word or image can awaken creative possibilities; the title of Robert Hass's poem 'Body through which the dream flows' inspired the second movement.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

John Adams began composing the Violin Concerto in 1992, inspired by a rising figure that unfolds in seemingly endless succession, creating a 'staircase wave' effect.

Source: Booklet

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©℗ 2018 St. Louis Symphony, under license to Nonesuch Records Inc. for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside the United States.