The CD contains three orchestral works by John Adams, of which the opening work - Common tones in simple time (1979) - is the least known. Yet here we also hear what makes the other two pieces - Harmonielehre (1985), Short ride in a fast machine (1986) - so attractive. Namely the combination of a fast moving surface against a slow harmonic undercurrent. Especially in Harmonielehre we hear what that
… combination is worth. The harmonic language is a lot more expressive here than in Common tones, the Wagnerian melancholy oozes from it. Some titles (Harmonielehre, The Amfortas wound) reveal that John Adams drew his inspiration from late German-Austrian Romanticism (Wagner, Schönberg). At the time, Adams's European conversion must have come as a culture shock for American fans of minimal music. Anyway, apparently Adams needed these European classical influences in order to develop as an opera composer as well. Conductor Kent Nagano knows how to beautifully evoke the romantic pathos of Harmonielehre. Short Ride is played so maniacally it's almost creepy.more