John Adams News

Selections from the National Gallery, an exhibition of history-inspired works by Nashville artist Lain York, will be on view in the Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery from January 31, 2014 through May 11, 2014. Employing a colorful visual shorthand, Mr. York invites viewers to think about the creative connections that shape our understanding of the continuing impact of American history.

Max McLean, Artistic Director of Fellowship for the Performing Arts, announces that the new production C.S. Lewis' THE GREAT DIVORCE will be presented at The Alabama Theatre, 1817 3rd Avenue N in Birmingham, on Saturday, January 11 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. This journey to Heaven and Hell is a provocative exploration of human nature, featuring vivid characters drawn with Lewis' trademark wit. THE GREAT DIVORCE National Tour kicks off in Phoenix in December and will visit cities including Kansas City, Charlotte, Charleston, Cleveland, Nashville, Colorado Springs, and Columbus in 2014.

LA Phil Creative Chair John Adams and the LA Phil New Music Group showcase the imaginative breadth of the next generation of Los Angeles creators with L.A. Now: New Angeleno Composers at Walt Disney Concert Hall, tonight, December 3, at 8 pm.

The December broadcasts of The New York Philharmonic This Week - the weekly radio series of concerts and recordings by the New York Philharmonic, hosted by Alec Baldwin - begin with Bernard Labadie returning to the Philharmonic to conduct Mozart's Requiem; J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 51, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!; and Handel's 'Let the Bright Seraphim' from Samson. The program's soloists will include soprano Miah Persson, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, tenor Fre?de?ric Antoun, bass Andrew Foster-Williams, and Associate Principal Trumpet Matthew Muckey, joined by the New York Choral Artists directed by Joseph Flummerfelt. The following week Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts the New York Premiere of The Marie- Jose?e Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse's Oboe Concerto featuring Principal Oboe Liang Wang, and Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra and Don Juan, both featuring Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow in the concertmaster solos.

Created by David Simon (HBO's 'The Wire,' 'Generation Kill' and 'The Corner') and Eric Overmyer ('St. Elsewhere,' 'Homicide: Life on the Street' and HBO's 'The Wire'), the Peabody Award-winning drama series TREME returns for its five-episode conclusion SUNDAY, DEC. 1

Festival General Director Nigel Redden announced today the program for the 38th annual Spoleto Festival USA, taking place from May 23 - June 8, 2014. Held in Charleston, South Carolina the festival includes American premieres of the opera Facing Goya by Michael Nyman, the play My Cousin Rachel presented by Dublin's Gate Theatre company, and a new staging of John Adams' opera El Niño directed by John La Bouchardière. The Festival will also present the opera directorial debut of Garry Hynes, the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a play on Broadway, in a production of Leoš Janá?ek's Kát'a Kabanová. Tickets are available to the general public on December 9 at spoletousa.org or by calling 843.579.3100.

In an interview with Boston Common magazine this week, DOWNTON ABBEY star Michelle Dockery talked about the success of the historical drama and how it has changed her life.

Festival General Director Nigel Redden announced today the program for the 38th annual Spoleto Festival USA, taking place from May 23 - June 8, 2014. Held in Charleston, South Carolina the festival includes American premieres of the opera Facing Goya by Michael Nyman, the play My Cousin Rachel presented by Dublin's Gate Theatre company, and a new staging of John Adams' opera El Niño directed by John La Bouchardière. The Festival will also present the opera directorial debut of Garry Hynes, the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a play on Broadway, in a production of Leoš Janá?ek's Kát'a Kabanová. Tickets are available to the general public on December 9 at spoletousa.org or by calling 843.579.3100.

Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in a program of Mozart's three final symphonies - Nos. 39, 40, and 41, Jupiter - tonight, November 29, 2013, at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 30 at 8:00 p.m. Classical 105.9 FM WQXR in New York will broadcast the November 30 concert live at 8:00 p.m. as part of a month-long festival on the music and life of Mozart.

LA Phil Creative Chair John Adams and the LA Phil New Music Group showcase the imaginative breadth of the next generation of Los Angeles creators with L.A. Now: New Angeleno Composers at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Tuesday, December 3, at 8 pm.

The adventurous St. Lawrence String Quartet marks its third Segerstrom Center appearance with an exciting program that includes a world premiere of composer James Matheson's new string quartet commissioned for the Center's Chamber Music Series by long-time subscribers Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.

Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson are featured in a new clip from Saving Mr Banks, hitting theaters on December 20th. In the clip, Walt Disney (Hanks) takes Pamela 'PL' Travers (Thompson) for a carousel ride at Disneyland!

In the New York Philharmonic's concerts this week celebrating the centennial of English composer, conductor, and pianist Benjamin Britten, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert, tenors Dominic Armstrong, Anthony Dean Griffey, and Michael Slattery will replace Paul Appleby, who has withdrawn due to illness. On November 21-22, 2013, Michael Slattery will make his Philharmonic debut in Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, and tenor Dominic Armstrong will make his Philharmonic debut in Britten's Spring Symphony. The concert on November 23 will feature tenor Anthony Dean Griffey in both works, and he will sing the Serenade on November 26 on a program that also includes Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 39 and 41, Jupiter.

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents Schubert's Sixth today, November 22-24, 2013 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Led by guest conductor Hans Graf, the performances feature the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, Lee Erickson, director, in Schubert's Mass No. 6 in E-flat major, D. 950 and Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543. Featured soloists include soprano Joe?lle Harvey, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Rivera, tenor Marc Molomot, tenor Sean Panikkar, and baritone Tyler Duncan.

The world of music is a vast place indeed, with room for what seems to be an endless mix of styles – everything from aboriginal drum melodies to esoteric computer scores. After about four decades of the musical avant-garde, in the late 1960s and early 1970s a style known as “minimalism” emerged in which the continuous repetition of simple musical elements (or one basic phrase) became the basis for a complete score. New names soon arrived on the scene, including Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams, among others. Also, a single overriding idea managed to prevail, at least for a time: it seems they all sought to escape from the spectacular, ultra-modern din (some say “noise”), reaching for a kinder, gentler manner of serious music.

In 2014 Tanglewood welcomes Andris Nelsonsfor his first festival appearances as BSO Music Director Designate. His first of four concerts with the BSO will be an all-Dvo?ak program, with the composer's symphonic poem The Noonday Witch, the Violin Concerto with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter, and the Symphony No. 8 (7/11). For his second BSO program on July 19, Maestro Nelsons will be joined by Swedish trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger performing his compatriot Rolf Martinsson's Trumpet Concerto, on a program with music by Brahms and Tchaikovsky. The following Sunday afternoon (7/20), Maestro Nelsons will open his BSO program withChristopher Rouse's Rapture, followed by Lalo'sSymphonie espagnole, with violin soloist Joshua Bell, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in a program that, for the first time, unites the Philharmonic's Artist-in-Residence and former and current Composers-in- Residence, two posts Alan Gilbert introduced at the beginning of his tenure. The program features The Marie-Jose Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse's Rapture; former Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg's Piano Concerto No. 2, with The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Yefim Bronfman as soloist; and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Thursday, January 2, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 3 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, January 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in a celebration of the centennial of English composer, conductor, and pianist Benjamin Britten. The program will include Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, featuring tenor Paul Appleby and Philharmonic Principal Horn Philip Myers, and Britten's Spring Symphony, with soprano Kate Royal (in her Philharmonic debut), mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke (Philharmonic subscription debut), tenor Paul Appleby, New York Choral Artists directed by Joseph Flummerfelt, and Brooklyn Youth Chorus directed by Dianne Berkun-Menaker. The concerts, which include a performance on the composer's 100th birthday, November 22, will take place tonight, November 21, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November 23 at 8:00 p.m.

The self-titled debut from The Knells (a new ensemble formed by composer/guitarist Andrew McKenna Lee) features Mivos String Quartet and more.