Chris Cohen at The Nation:
Unlike the other usual contenders for the title of greatest living American composer, who rose up out of lofts and art galleries (Glass, Reich) or Hollywood recording studios (John Williams), Adams is a denizen of the concert hall and the opera house—the restless maximalism of his greatest works is at its best live, heard with undivided attention. And unlike the atonal modernism he rejected, his music has a certain populist quality, a fundamental legibility to broad audiences. But keeping track of the rapidly shifting moods and subversions and extensions of musical convention may be an acquired taste: It can seem that the innovations that made his reputation have simultaneously restricted his renown largely to the confines that the classical music world has created for itself.
It’s also not such a mystery why Adams isn’t usually considered a man of the left: He tends to reject the idea that he’s a political composer, and if you come to Adams for straightforward moral judgements and affirmation, you’re going to be disappointed. He’s not a reliable source of public statements, nor is he in the business of giving unambiguous analysis of his own work.
more here.
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