Prom 38:  John Adams Eric Owens - bass, BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor John Adams;  Royal Albert Hall, 11.080.2006 (JW)

John Adams - My Father Knew Charles Ives (2003); The Wound-Dresser (1988-9); Hamonielehre (1985)

 

After the hardcore minimalism of the previous concert, John Adams' music is recognisably of a similar sound-world but rather more accessible,  differing from 'pure' minimalism by including direct emotional expression and musical quotation. This evening's concert gave a good survey of the composer's writing and the bonus of hearing the conductor performing his own work. The evening also drew firmly on American traditions, musical and otherwise, in the inspiration of all the works.

 

The opening piece is much more recent than the others on the programme. It is a three-part work for small orchestra, closely influenced by Charles  Ives' Three Places in New England  and quipped affectionately by the composer, ' Three Places in New England , Only a Little Further North',  as he grew up in New Hampshire, the inspiration for this work. The structure is somewhat unusual in that the first movement, Concord, is the most vigorous and extravert, with both the second, The Lake, and the third The Mountain, being quieter and more meditative. The style is recognisable from Adams' earlier works but has also developed a mature polish; in many ways it was the most interesting part of the performance.

 

The second work showed Adams' writing for a solo performer, in this case  bass voice, and hence a different aspect of his work. This work is a setting  of poetry by Walt Whitman recalling his experiences as a nurse during the Civil War. It shows Adams in a serious and reflective mood, contrasting with the exuberant nature of some of his better-known works. The music is plaintive, as befits the theme; the singer has a relatively straightforward recitative with steady string accompaniment being interjected at times by other instruments coming to the fore; synthesizer, solo violin, trumpet - in a similar role to that in the second movement of Harmonielehre  and then again, in the closing sections, solo violin once more. The music remains unresolved as it draws to a quiet close, reflecting the poet's mixed emotions.

 

However, this piece suffered from the inevitable limitations of this venue's size and acoustic for such a work. Eric Owens has a strong voice with clear diction and managed relatively well, but I was glad not to have been in the gallery or the upper circle. This was his Proms debut and he is better known as yet in his native America, where he has performed both operatic roles and vocal parts in orchestral works. It would be good to see more of him in this country, perhaps in a  recital-friendly venue  such as the Wigmore Hall or at Aldeburgh.

 

The longest and final work was Adams' seminal work Harmonielehre, named after a treatise by Schoenberg and causing consternation on its publication to both modernists and minimalists. It combines the harmonic economy of minimalism with the extravagant forces and lush orchestration of the late Romantic style, with clear Mahlerian influences but a distinctively West Coast exuberance and liveliness. The combination of  European structures and influences with new ideas and novel presentation in a distinctive approach is found both in the works of Ives, whose influence on Adams is acknowledged in the first work on the programme, and in the Sinfonietta by Berio, who was one of Adams' teachers. Although Adams rejected much of Berio's approach, it would seem not to have been entirely without some effect.

 

Although Adams himself describes this work as 'a conceit I could only get away with once', at a simple level it is also a hugely enjoyable piece - a glistening, exuberant and accessible sound-world which does not shy away from reflective moments and varying musical emotions.

The first movement was inspired by the composer's dream of a giant supertanker taking off into the sky like a rocket from San Francisco Bay. It is expansive and optimistic, full of exuberance and bounce. It has big exciting punch of a start, which was taken faster here than in the recording, and the rocket analogy is clear.

 

The second movement, The Amfortas Wound, brings melancholy and restriction, its title referring to a Jungian archetype for vulnerability, depression and impotence, but also its illusion to a medieval king (cf. Wagner's Parsifal) showing the European cultural influences underpinning this very American work. It also draws strongly on Mahler's tenth and last symphony.

 

In a relatively traditional style, the third movement has a return to optimism. Its title, Meister Eckhart and Quackie refers to another dream (as well as to another medieval European figure), Quackie being a nickname for the composer's daughter, who was seen flying on the shoulders of the mystic. The music gathers pace and energy towards an exciting finale.

 

The performance in fact improved steadily as the piece went on, the third movement being particularly notable, with the double bass section's excellent playing of their extensive part.

 

Although the composer's own performance must be more authoritative, personally I did  not enjoy this quite as much as the CBSO's live performance of Harmonielehre, which they toured in 2002-3 with their present musical director or their recording (EMI 555051-2) of this work under  Simon Rattle, who brings great passion and vigour to the work's exuberance and dramatic contrasts. This performance was more measured and sounded as if perhaps the orchestra and conductor had not had as long together as might have been ideal. Adams has conducted the BBC Symphony as a Proms guest conductor before and, whilst his association with them is happier than those of some other American conductors, he did not bring as much out of this orchestra as they can often offer. I prefer his music to his conducting.

 

However, the evening did represent a good survey of the composer's work. For those whose appetite was whetted by it, in addition to Rattle's recording (q.v.), which surveys a range of  shorter works in addition to Harmonielehre, there is a creditable introduction on Naxos (8.559031) - which includes The Wound Dresser - with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop (who has also performed his work with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall). Useful online resources are available at www.earbox.com.

 

Julie Williams