United States Premiere of John Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony

Thurs, February 7 at 7:30pm
Fri, February 8 at 8pm
David Robertson, conductor
Radu Lupu*, piano

Brahms	Tragic Overture
Mozart	Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488
Sibelius	Tapiola
John Adams	Doctor Atomic Symphony (United States premiere)

Arrive early to enjoy PreConcert Perspectives with David Robertson and John Adams. The SLSO Music Director and America's pre-eminent contemporary composer will share with you their insights into Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony, which receives its United States premiere with David Robertson and the SLSO. A rare opportunity to learn of the makings of an important new work from one of the great artists of our time, and from one of Adams' leading interpreters. PreConcert Perspectives are held in the auditorium one hour prior to the concerts.

* Radu Lupu is brought to you through the generosity of the Whitaker Foundation as part of the Whitaker Guest Artist Series.

John Adams

The Concert: Burden of Dreams

Begin with Brahms' dramatically charged Tragic Overture. Mozart's serene concerto contains the counterweight of shadows, of gravity, and sings of the frailty of the earth-bound life. Sibelius' tone poem was inspired by a menacing character from the epic Finnish folk poem Kalevala, a work that inspired the composer throughout his life. Conclude with John Adams' new symphonic work, which conveys and excitement and devastation of J. Robert Oppenheimer's Faustian bargain at the Trinity site in Los Alamos, New Mexico. 

These performances of John Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony will be recorded live for a future release on Nonesuch Records.

The Artists: Skilled Dreamers

David Robertson is one of the most skilled interpreters of John Adams' music, and he has a unique and distinctive way with Mozart and Brahms and Sibelius too. He also has developed a successful collaboration with Radu Lupu, who last performed with David Robertson and the SLSO the Schumann Piano Concerto in January 2007. Alex Ross, author of the critically-acclaimed The Rest Is Noise, writes of Lupu, "No pianist gets a lovelier tone out of the instrument. How he does it is a bit of a mystery: the piano is, after all, an impersonal machine of levers and hammers. But an A above middle C sounds different under Lupu's finger. It glows from within."

Stephanie DeChambeau, staff/development: We'll FINALLY get to hear the Doctor Atomic Symphony! David Robertson has turned me into a John Adams fan so I don't want to miss the US premiere. 

Eric Gaston, staff/artistic administration: The Mozart piano concerto on this program might be my favorite of the 27 he wrote, and with Radu Lupu at the keyboard I've no doubt the performances will be revealing and moving. Also, as a major fan of John Adams' music I'm definitely looking forward to the US premiere of his Doctor Atomic Symphony here in St. Louis, even though I have no idea what it sounds like. 

Lorraine Glass-Harris, second violin: We may ponder Mozart's influence on Brahms, and then literally explode the tradition with John Adams' Doctor Atomic. At concert's end, our ears should be literally ringing with the harmony of the spheres. 

Dana Edson Myers, first violin: I think the concert with David Robertson and Radu Lupu looks fantastic!   

Tim Myers, principal trombone: The piece that I'm perhaps most intrigued about is John Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony in February. If Doctor Atomic is as engaging as Nixon in China or Harmonielehre are, we are in for a wonderful experience.

Gospel Mass is Robert Ray's interpretation of two-thousand years of liturgical tradition with the more contemporary music of the African-American Church. For centuries, composers have taken the text of the Ordinary of the Mass and given them musical settings. Each setting creates within the listener a different feeling about the worship experience. 

The composer states: "It is my desire to combine centuries of old traditions of Mass settings with sounds of the contemporary Black Church. The move from Latin to English created new opportunities for composers to express their feelings about the texts of the Ordinary of the Mass. I wanted everyone to experience the sense of joy and celebration that is generally felt in true African-American worship." 

This performance of Robert Ray's Gospel Mass will be recorded live for potential internet distribution.

Share a Valentine's Day all-Chopin program with the one you love. Pianist Orli Shaham is the ideal artist with whom to celebrate this day for lovers at Powell Symphony Hall. After all, Orli knows of no more romantic place than Powell, because that's where she met her husband, David Robertson.