John Adams - Harmonielehre; Short Ride in a Fast Machine (Michael Tilson Thomas)

Information

Composer: John Adams

1. Harmonielehre: I.
2. Harmonielehre: II. The Anfortas Wound
3. Harmonielehre: III. Meister Eckhardt and Quackie
4. Short Ride in a Fast Machine

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Date: 2012

Label: SFS Media

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Review

My colleague Victor Carr Jr’s succinct and vivid description of John Adams’ 1984 Harmonielehre (type John Adams in Search Reviews) provides an excellent introduction to a composition that has deservedly found its way into the contemporary orchestral canon. This is (I believe) its fifth commercially released version on disc, and the second featuring the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, who premiered the work and recorded it with Edo de Waart on Nonesuch.

Sonically speaking, the present SACD offers the best sound quality in terms of ambient depth, dynamic range, and three-dimensional orchestral image in which no detail goes unaccounted. What is more, Michael Tilson Thomas’ brisk first-movement tempos and confident, effortless sculpting of Adams’ vertiginous antiphony between orchestral choirs reveals the extent to which this orchestra–and most other professional American orchestras, I wager–have absorbed Adams’ stylistic fingerprints.

Thomas elicits lusher, more inflected string playing in the second movement’s dark, lyrical opening, and more defined yet dynamically unfettered brass playing in the harrowing climax. Only the third movement slightly disappoints in comparison with de Waart; the latter’s lighter, faster, and more playful handling of the intricate high-register writing convinces more than Thomas’ slower, texturally diffident sobriety.

To conclude, Adams’ joyful, energetic miniature Short Ride in a Fast Machine gets as sleek and accurate a reading as one can expect from these forces, although I slightly prefer the stronger accents and sense of dance distinguishing de Waart’s earlier (albeit not as well played) San Francisco recording.

— Jed Distler

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John Adams (born 15 February 1947) is an American composer and conductor. Educated at Harvard, he initially embraced modernism before developing a distinctive style that blends minimalism with expressive, eclectic influences. Based in San Francisco, Adams gained recognition through orchestral works such as Harmonium, Harmonielehre and Short Ride in a Fast Machine. He is also a major operatic composer, with works including Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer and Doctor Atomic, often addressing historical and political themes. His music has earned many honors, including Grammy and Pulitzer Prizes.

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Michael Tilson Thomas (born 21 December 1944) is an American conductor, composer, pianist and educator. Trained at the University of Southern California, he rose to prominence through roles with major orchestras including the Boston Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, where he served as music director from 1995 to 2020. Known for innovative programming and educational outreach, Tilson Thomas also composed a diverse body of works and received numerous honors, including the National Medal of Arts and Kennedy Honors.

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