John Adams' Grand Pianola Music
I usually try to keep the musical moment brief, but this week I am asking you to take a little trip with me.
John Adams wrote this quirky, fun piece thirty six years ago, when the idea of writing something melodic was extremely out-of-style for modern contemporary music. The piece has more than stood the test of time - it has grown in stature from the first performance in New York where the audience booed to become a standard-bearer of late 20th Century music.
This OUTSTANDING performance by members of the Los Angeles Phil was recorded recently on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl, and it is a wonderful document of COVID-time, with the musicians in separate plastic cubicles, and the pianists wearing masks. It all somehow adds to the other-worldly quality of the music. WARNING: it is 33 minutes long, but it is worth the trip. You can catch John Adams' dream of dueling concert grand pianos barreling down Interstate 5 if you watch closely.
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