Related Objects

KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Morning Concert: John Adams (Feb. 1989), 1 of 2

Analog Audio

Event Type

Interview and Music

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

MC.1989.02.16.A

Program Series

Morning Concert

Program Length

114 min

Part

1 of 2

Dates

1989-02-16 | broadcast
| 1989-02-16 | created

Description

From a program recorded on February 16, 1989, Charles Amirkhanian interviews composer John Adams, whose blockbuster opera ”Nixon in China,” written in collaboration with director Peter Sellers and poet Alice Goodman, had just been released on CD. This recording with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s with Edo de Waart conducting, features singers John Duykers and Stephanie Friedman among others. The opera tells the story of Nixon’s trip to China and features a host off famous figures including Richard and Pat Nixon, Chou En Lai, Henry Kissinger and Chairman Mao himself. Selections from the recording are heard, in addition to a discussion of Adam’s other orchestral and operatic projects. Adams talks about his recent forays into the world of conducting, travels to the Soviet Union, and the popularity of minimal or repetitive music. Adams also touches upon the challenges of incorporating music from other cultures and periods in a manner that is less appropriation and more sublimation.

Genres

Operas
New music

Musical Selections

Suite, for violin, piano, and small orchestra [fifth movement, “Second Gamelan”] (1951) (1:55) / Lou Harrison -- Shaker Loops, for 3 violins, viola, 2 violoncellos, and double bass [first movement, “Shaking and Trembling] (1983) (5:40) / John Adams -- Nixon in China [Act I Scene I, libretto by Alice Goodman] (1985-87) (18:41) / John Adams -- Nixon in China [repeated excerpts from Act I, Scene 1] -- Nixon in China [excerpt from Act I, Scene III] (0:51)

Performers

Keith Jarrett, piano (Suite)
Robert Hughes, conductor (Suite)
Ridge Quartet (Shaker)
Dan Smiley, violin (Shaker)
Judiyaba, violoncello (Shaker)
Gary Lowendusky, double bass (Shaker)
Sanford Sylvan, baritone, Chou En-Lai (Nixon)
James Maddalena, baritone, Richard Nixon (Nixon)
Thomas Hammons, baritone, Henry Kissinger (Nixon)
Mari Opatz, mezzo-soprano, 1st Secretary (Nixon)
Stephanie Friedman, mezzo-soprano, 2nd Secretary (Nixon)
Marion Dry, mezzo-soprano, 3rd Secretary (Nixon)
John Duykers, tenor, Mao Tse-Tung (Nixon)
Carolann Page, soprano, Pat Nixon (Nixon)
Trudy Ellen Craney, soprano, Madame Mao (Nixon)
Orchestra of St. Luke’s (Nixon)
Edo de Waart, conductor (Nixon)

Subjects

New music
Minimal music
Suites (Violin and piano with instrumental ensemble)
String septets (Violins (3), viola, cellos (2), double bass)
Operas -- Excerpts

Acknowledgment

Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.