John Adams: Fearful Symmetries | Marin Alsop | NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra plays "Fearful Symmetries" by John Adams under the baton of Marin Alsop.
JOHN ADAMS
Fearful Symmetries
Marin Alsop, conductor
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra
An excerpt from the concert as part of the "Age of Anxiety" festival on February 18, 2022, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
Website: www.ndr.de/eo
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Instagram: ndr.eo
#ndrelbphilharmonieorchester #ageofanxiety #johnadams

[@lonchaneyfanch9568]

The most exciting work by John Adams !

[@3michael919]

Elements of "The Chairman Dances" and "Short Ride in a Fast Machine" to my ears-I'm not a huge John Adams fan but it's fun to listen to now and again!

[@NDRKlassik]

Well, thanks for listening again! ☺️

[@mariorossimater]

Also Grand Pianola Music

[@fredericperrin3279]

Great interpretation! I have loved this piece ever since it came out in the 80s. To me, it is a surprise that it is not played more often. The finale from the 25th minute onward is incredible.

[@NDRKlassik]

Thank you! We ask ourselves too. Let's see what the future brings :)

[@notaire2]

Es ist meine erste Gelegenheit, dieses einzigartige Werk anzuhören. Erstaunlich fein komponiert und wunderschön aufgeführt mit farbenreichen doch perfekt entsprechenden Tönen aller Instrumente. Die intelligente und geniale Dirigentin leitet das hoch funktionelle Orchester im rhythmischen Tempo und mit effektiver Dynamik. Wundervoll und danke fürs wertvolle Onlinestellen!

[@NDRKlassik]

Lieber notaire, es ist uns ein Vergnügen! Vielen Dank!

[@mrspoonofbuttonmoon]

Really interesting to be able to see what's going on in this magnificently complex work! Thank you for uploading it.

[@NDRKlassik]

Thank you for listening!! We're glad you enjoyed it. 🥰

[@Yassoda]

Love this piece!

[@jean-jacquessimon6703]

Du pur John Adams. Dans le droit fil de Harmonielehre.

[@michaeljarosz4062]

Adams' "Concerto for Orchestra"

[@lausanneguy]

Excellent visuals, too.

[@NDRKlassik]

Thank you, glad you like it! 🤩

[@MrPenfold71]

Have loved this piece for years - first heard it around 1991, and still intrigues me!

[@MrPenfold71]

I've always thought of it as a machine with many cogs running at different speeds....

[@Sploooks]

This piece is so much fun

[@NDRKlassik]

Agreed!!

[@captainreza1]

A delightful rendition of John Adam”s Chairman Dancing!

[@NDRKlassik]

Many thanks!

[@extremeflext]

Sensational!! Love every minute

[@NDRKlassik]

Happy to hear this!!

[@Egobaldo]

Sounds like Philip Glass. Loved it!

[@didierduplenne2325]

A little more uneven and unstable though (I love both of their work)

[@didierduplenne2325]

🌻🌻🌻

[@davidpanton3192]

I can't recall hearing a piece for the first time and enjoying it as much as this! Much of it reminded me of his Nixon in China.

[@NDRKlassik]

Wohoo, thank you!!

[@michaeljarosz4062]

That's because Adams has his own unique recognizable style.

[@mekivala]

Musique et direction magnifiques ! 🤩

[@NDRKlassik]

Merci beaucoup!!

[@MrPenfold71]

Awesome performance - thank you!

[@NDRKlassik]

Much appreciated, thanks!

[@carolinegrevelle]

6:50 - 7:06 Tour Segment 1 10:24 Wide-angle view 12:09 - 12:22 Ceiling Up close 12:43 Wide-angle view 13:28 - 13:58 Tour Segment 2 16:53 Wide-angle zoom-out 17:43 - 17:59 Tour Segment 3 19:04 - 19:33 Tour Segment 4 26:16 Cool view of wall 27:19 - 27:50 Ceiling zoom out

[@gabriellen.2886]

This is a strange piece! I've never heard it before; it calls to mind frantic movement/industrial activity/commerce/city business - if any of that makes any sense when put into words LOL. I have to go google this to learn more. Amazing performance!

[@NDRKlassik]

Thank you for sharing! :))

[@Altonahh10]

It is typical minimal music that made Adams one of the most important composers at this time after a long creative crisis with "Harmonielehre" and "Nixon in China", among others. If you want to know more about minimal music, I recommend Steve Reich's "Music for 18 musicians" and of course Glass. For what you call industrial music, I would go to the 1920s, especially Prokofiev's 2nd Symphony or the music of Hindemith.

[@gabriellen.2886]

@@Altonahh10 Why, thank you:-)

[@cms8989]

Spannendes Stück. Erinnert ein bisschen an "Short ride in a fast machine", was ja glaube ich 2 Jahre vor diesem Stück entstanden ist. Muss mir echt mal mehr von John Adams anhören!

[@NDRKlassik]

Cool! Wie wäre es hiermit: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHKqZWB5ZZhne5I :))

[@cms8989]

@@NDRKlassik Top, nehme ich! :)

[@aleksandarjankovski6542]

Is that the former BPO first flute, Herr Blau, just playing gigs? Cool!

[@NDRKlassik]

🤩 Yes, it is Andreas Blau, well done!

[@KarasuToRonin]

I had been at this specific concert at the Elbphilharmonie. The title of the Convert "Age of anxiety" fittet perfectly also to the fearful mood regarding ruSSia only a couple of days befor the invasion of Ukraine. At that Evening there was a strong storm in Hamburg underlining the strange mood. I loved the Music , i loved the performance Thanks for sharing this Clip.

[@NDRKlassik]

Our pleasure! Thank you for sharing your experience - that was an intense one, indeed!

[@tetrasync1]

Fantastic early Adams piece, very similiar in style to Nixon in China (and unlike recent Adams still very much showing the influence of Philip Glass with those triad arpeggios). But those simple dominant 7 chords around 5:22 sound so cheesy...

[@guidepost42]

Alsop is good, I mean RFALLY good! The music is very excellent, but IMHO it needs Buster Keaton to add that special dimension.

[@tommartin8700]

Maestro Alsop: Think about milking the silence at the end two seconds longer !

[@didierduplenne2325]

😃

[@andradas9688]

When listening to John Adams one feels like immersed in a kaleidoscope of tasteless ideas. His harmonic world is not only primitive, as it is infantile. Then the minimalistic pastiche so typical of contemporary American "please give me money I need to be successful my country is so proud of me fight the enemy in God we trust" music. I think Walt Disney was great, indeed. But when Bambi seems to be the main theme of everything related to minimalism and these types of silly harmonic simplicity (including new generations of shameless imitators), one has to wonder whether they took Walt too far. Maybe Lady and the Tramp will provide more diversity for let's say hundreds of new operas, orchestral pieces, etc, etc.

[@extremeflext]

what do you like to listen to?

[@andradas9688]

​@@extremeflext in contemporary music? I am conservative, I like Berio, Ligeti. Both moved forward in all dimensions of music sensibility and craft. Not this shallow silly tasteless stuff from the video. It is my opinion, thanks. BTW, Steve Reich had some good things that he 100% got from his trip to Africa back in the 70's. Did I say 100%? 110%.

[@jwinder2]

@@andradas9688 Berio and Ligeti have been dead for quite a while. Who do you listen to that is alive?

[@andradas9688]

@@jwinder2 no one in particular. There are tons of recordings and videos of lots of composers from everywhere, younger, older, everything in between. Some are interesting, no question about that. But I answered what I LIKE to listen, not who is necessarily around, fashionable, promoted by institutions, etc, etc.

[@studioheathco]

@@andradas9688Did it occur to you that composers writing post minimal music are just writing music THEY like? Berio and Ligeti were writing music at a time when it was the trend to try and push music forward, as if that were the primary aim of music and art. (Ironically, both composers were aware of the dogmatic practices from primarily academic composers and both wrote music that THEY liked, while openly encouraging other younger composers to find their own paths- Berio taught Reich and Andriessen) Enough people really enjoy Reich and Adams, along with a fair amount of their imitators. There is a reason these folks get programmed as often as they do. Berio and Ligeti, for all of the amazing work they produced, appeal mostly to academic tastes. There are many aims to why we make art. Complexity and newness are just a fraction of those options. Glass and Reich (along with other minimalists) showed composers that it’s okay play with simplicity. Andriessen showed composers they can make that simplicity sound gnarly and still be a fun ride for audiences. Adams just picks up where that trend was headed. Adams is hardly the end of the line for music; he’s just one option. There are thousands of composers putting out music daily that lands somewhere in the vast spectrum. Long story short: just go listen to something you like. Why come and shit all over music you don’t enjoy as though the point you are trying to make is an objective condemnation of the music for all? Don’t yuck other people’s yum; it makes you look like an asshole.

[@Belfreyite]

John Adams certainly likes G and C#