John Adams (composer)

John Adams (John Coolidge Adams), 1947-, American composer, b. Worcester, Mass. A clarinetist, he studied composition at Harvard (B.A. 1969, M.A. 1971). Often regarded as the most outstanding, technically adept, and influential composer of his generation, Adams has written in numerous genres, bringing to his compositions a keen sense of the theatrical and the vernacular. His distinctive sound is a mixture of post- minimalism with an intensely emotional expansiveness and a range of expressive tonal elements reminiscent of late romanticism and early modernism. Strong and vivid, his music can exhibit both a wittily life-affirming sense of fun and a decidedly contemporary aura of grief and horror.

Adams is best known for operas on topical themes, including Nixon in China (1987), about the president's 1972 visit; The Death of Klinghoffer (1991), based on a 1985 terrorist hijacking and murder; and Doctor Atomic (2005), dealing with J. Robert Oppenheimer and the birth of the atomic bomb. Among his many other works are Shaker Loops (1978, rev. 1983) for strings, Harmonielehre (1985), Fearful Symmetries (1988), the "song-play" I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (1995), El Dorado (1993), a violin concerto (1993), Lollapalooza (1995), Gnarly Buttons (1996) for clarinet and orchestra, and the symphonic Naive and Sentimental Music (1999). His 21st-century pieces include the monumental nativity oratorio El Niño (2000); On the Transmigration of Souls (2002; Pulitzer Prize), a meditative soundscape in memory of the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, for orchestra, chorus, and various sound effects; and A Flowering Tree, a lyrical opera based on a South Indian folk tale.

Bibliography: See T. May, ed., The John Adams Reader (2006).

Adams, John (1947– ) US composer. Influenced by composers such as John Cage and Morton Feldman, Adams' work is a fusion of electronics, jazz, and minimalism. He won a Grammy Award (1989) for his opera Nixon in China (1987).

Adams, John (Coolidge) (b Worcester, Mass., 1947). Amer. composer, conductor, and clarinettist. Head, comp. dept., S. Francisco Cons. 1972–82. Comp.-in-res., S. Francisco SO 1979–85. One of composers known as minimalists, but his style has broadened and he has deliberately forged an eclectic idiom which borrows from most of the major 20th-cent. composers and from jazz. Comps.:OPERAS: Nixon in China (1984–7); The Death of Klinghoffer (1990–1); I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky, mus. th. (1994–5).ORCH.: Common Tones in Simple Time (1980); Shaker Loops, str. (1983); Harmonielehre (1984–5); Tromba lontana (1986); Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986); The Chairman Dances (1987); Fearful Symmetries (1988); Eros Piano, pf., orch. or chamber orch. (1989); El Dorado (1991); Chamber Symphony (1991); vn. conc. (1993).VOICE(S) & ORCH. OR ENS.: Christian Zeal and Activity, spkr. on tape., ens. (1973); Grounding, 3 solo vv., instr., elec. (1975); Harmonium, ch., orch. (1980); Grand Pianola Music, 2 sop., 2 pf., small orch. (1981–2); The Wound Dresser, bar., orch. or chamber orch. (1988).CHAMBER MUSIC: pf. quintet (1970); American Standard, unspecified ens. (1973).PIANO: Ragamarole (1973); China Gates (1977); Phrygian Gates (1977).TAPE ONLY: Onyx (1975); Light Over Water (1983).