John Adams - City Noir; Saxophone Concerto (David Robertson; Timothy McAllister)

Information

Composer: John Adams

1. City Noir: I. The City and Its Double
2. City Noir: II. The Song is for You
3. City Noir: III. Boulevard Night
4. Saxophone Concerto: I. Animato
5. Saxophone Concerto: I. (cont'd.) Moderato
6. Saxophone Concerto: II. Molto vivo

Timothy McAllister, saxophone

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

David Robertson, conductor

Date: 2014

Label: Nonesuch

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Review

2014 is shaping up to be a good year for John Adams fans: in March, Deutsche Grammophon released the premiere recording of his acclaimed Passion oratorio, The Gospel According to the Other Mary, and this month Nonesuch brings out a new disc containing his three-movement tone poem/symphony City Noir and last year’s Saxophone Concerto. Sometime later this year, the San Francisco Symphony is scheduled to unveil the debut recording of 2012’s Absolute Jest. Heady days these are, indeed.

Adams wrote City Noir for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its then-brand new music director, Gustavo Dudamel, in 2009. Drawing on the influence of Kevin Starr’s California-themed “dream” books and the heritage of film noir scores, it’s the third in a series of California-specific works Adams has written since 1991 (the underrated El Dorado and mesmeric The Dharma at Big Sur are the other ones). City Noir’s premiere, broadcast on PBS and released by Deutsche Grammophon, is a thrilling document, bristling with energy, edgy, and, unsurprising considering the momentous nature of the event, a bit nervous.

This new recording, with David Robertson at the helm of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), has all those qualities, too, but minus the opening night jitters. The performance is no less athletic than the L.A. Philharmonic’s, but this one can (and does) relax. It breathes. And, as a result, all of the music’s strange characters are more vividly etched.

Robertson draws an impressive degree of textural clarity from the orchestra. Adams’ dense, swirling writing throughout the first movement is as lucid as you’ll ever hear it, but it’s also charged with electricity. Robertson digs into the songful quality of the writing in this score: on more than one occasion, I was struck by the similarities between the opening movement of City Noir and that of Adams’ great, 30-year-old Harmonielehre. There are huge stylistic differences between the pieces, to be sure, but they share a similar lyrical sensibility.

That lyrical voice carries over into the second movement, titled “The Song is for You,” which features lengthy solos for saxophone and trombone. In the finale, Adams transforms a hazy, mysterious opening into a weird, wild, romping dance: it’s an essay in extroversion and the grotesque that, far from being off-putting, exerts an irresistible pull. Robertson and the SLSO play the daylights out of it, reveling in the music’s mix of raucous energy and high spirits.

In many ways, though, the main feature of this album is 2013’s Saxophone Concerto. Adams wrote it for Timothy McAllister (who also plays the acrobatic solos in City Noir) and, in his words, consciously aimed for an “American” sound, loose and gritty (as opposed to the more traditional “French” style, smoother with a fast vibrato).

“American” this concerto may be in its energy and brash outlook, but it’s also surprisingly “French” (at least in the late-19th/early-20th-century manner): Adams – who’s always been a master orchestrator – made use of a fascinatingly delicate palette of instrumental combinations in this piece, which gives the concerto, more often than not, a soft, glowing warmth, especially in the big opening movement.

If you’ve followed Adams’ music for any of the last twenty years, you’ll know that he tends to work with motives rather than tunes, and the Saxophone Concerto continues this trend impressively. Like his 2008 String Quartet, it’s cast in two movements: the sprawling opening one that runs about twenty minutes, and a brisk finale that clocks in (here) at just under six. There are some dry moments over the first two-thirds of the former – especially towards the end of its first half, when it feels like McAllister is doing little more than spinning notes (beautifully, it must be said) – but, overall, the piece leaves a tight impression: at this point in his career, Adams’ sense of musical development and drama is strong as ever.

While not really marking any major stylistic developments (as does The Gospel According to the Other Mary), Adams’ Saxophone Concerto is a significant addition to the repertoire and is poised to become a cornerstone of the classical saxophone repertoire.

— Jonathan Blumhofer

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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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Timothy McAllister (born 21 October 1972) is an American classical saxophonist. He earned advanced degrees from the University of Michigan, where he was the first saxophonist to receive the Albert A. Stanley Medal. A member of the PRISM Quartet, McAllister has performed internationally in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and the Concertgebouw. He has recorded more than 50 albums on prominent labels, and premiered over 250 new works by leading contemporary composers. McAllister is Professor of Saxophone at The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

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David Robertson (born 19 July 1958) is an American conductor. Educated at London's Royal Academy of Music, he studied horn and composition before focusing on conducting. Robertson has appeared with major orchestras and festivals worldwide and is noted for his advocacy of new music and innovative programming. He served as Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2018 and as Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra through 2019, earning multiple Grammy Awards. He has also maintained a prominent career at leading opera houses and is deeply committed to music education.

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