John Luther Adams

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John Luther Adams, 2014

John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953 in Meridian , Mississippi ) is an American composer .

Life

Adams attended Cal Arts College in California in the early 1970s and studied with James Tenney and Leonard Stein . There he became aware of composers such as Lois V. Vierk and Peter Garland.

After graduating, Adams worked in environmental organizations. As a result, he came to Alaska in 1975 , where he has been living since 1978. In 2001 he received a Heinz Award for his commitment to environmental protection.

music

His music is considered to have been shaped by the landscapes of Alaska. Like many composers of his generation, he found classical music indirectly. His musical career began as a drummer in a rock band. He then got to know the music of Frank Zappa . Through his music he discovered Edgar Varèse and John Cage . He found his calling as a composer when he heard Morton Feldman for the first time.

The CD Clouds of Forgetting, Clouds of Unknowing (1997) was nominated at the 1999 Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Orchestral Performance .

With his piece Become Oceans he won the Pulitzer Price for Music 2014 and the Grammy 2015 for best classical composition.

Compositions (selection)

  • Green Corn Dance (1974) for percussion ensemble
  • Night Peace (1976) for antiphonal choirs, soprano solo, harp and percussion
  • songbirdsongs (1974–80) for two piccolo flutes and three percussionists
  • Strange Birds Passing (1983) for flute choir
  • The Far Country of Sleep (1988) for orchestra
  • Dream in White on White (1992) for orchestra
  • Earth and the Great Weather (1990–93) for theater
  • Five Yup'ik Dances (1991-94) for harp
  • Crow and Weasel (1993–94) (story by Barry Lopez ) for theater
  • Sauyatugvik: The Time of Drumming (1995) for orchestra
  • Clouds of Forgetting, Clouds of Unknowing (1991–95) for orchestra
  • Five Athabascan Dances (1992/96) for harp and percussion
  • Strange and Sacred Noise (1991–97) for four percussionists
  • Make Prayers to the Raven (1996/98) flute, violin, harp, cello and drums
  • In the White Silence (1998) for orchestra
  • Qilyaun (1998) for four bass drums
  • Time Undisturbed (1999) for 3 Shakuhachis, 3 Kotos and Shō
  • In a Treeless Place, Only Snow (1999) for celesta, harp, two vibraphones and string quartet
  • The Light That Fills the World (1999–2000) for orchestra
  • Among Red Mountains (2001) for piano
  • The Farthest Place (2001) for violin, vibraphone, marimbaphone, piano and 5-string double bass
  • After the Light (2001) for alto flute, vibraphone and harp
  • Dark Wind (2001) for bass clarinet, vibraphone, marimba and piano
  • Red Arc / Blue Veil (2002) for piano, percussion and "processed sounds"
  • The Mathematics of Resonant Bodies (2002) for drums and "processed sounds"
  • Poem of the Forgotten (2004) (poem by John Haines) for voice and piano
  • For Lou Harrison (2004, premiere 2005) for string quartet, string orchestra and two pianos
  • The Place Where You Go to Listen

Discography

  • Songbirdsongs (1981)
  • A Northern Suite / Night Peace (1983)
  • Forest Without Leaves (1987)
  • The Far Country (1993)
  • Dream in White on White
  • Night Peace
  • The Far Country of Sleep
  • Earth and the Great Weather (1995)
  • Dark Wind (2002)
  • The Light That Fills the World (2002)
  • The Farthest Place
  • The Light That Fills the World
  • The Immeasurable Space of Tones
  • In the White Silence (2003)
  • Strange and Sacred Noise (2005)
  • The Mathematics of Resonant Bodies (2006)
  • For Lou Harrison (2007)
  • Red Arc / Blue Veil (2007)
  • For Lou Harrison (2007)
  • The Place We Began (2009)
  • Four Thousand Holes (2011)
  • Songbirdsongs (2012)
  • Inuksuit (2013)
  • Become Ocean (2014)
  • The Wind In High Places (2015)
  • Canticles Of The Holy Wind (2017)
  • Everything That Rises (2018)

literature

  • Bernd Herzogenrath (ed.): The Farthest Place. The Music of John Luther Adams. Northeastern University Press, 2012.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Adams, John Luther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Meridian , Mississippi