April 15, 2014
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS WINS PULITZER PRIZE FOR SEATTLE SYMPHONY COMMISSION

It was announced today that John Luther Adams won the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his atmospheric and revolutionary work, Become Ocean. On May 6th, the Seattle Symphony will give its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall as part of Spring for Music.

Regarding this Seattle Symphony commission, which received its world premiere in Seattle on June 20, 2013, Musical Director Ludovic Morlot commented: "What really attracts me to a composer is the individuality in the voice – and John Luther Adams' music is very much inspired by the natural landscapes that are all around us. Become Ocean is written for three different orchestras, each of which has their own journey and rhythm. Three times in the piece they meet in that crucial moment, at the peak of their dynamics together. It's ultimately about you becoming an element of nature yourself, and disappearing in the whole landscape of things."

Executive Director of the Seattle Symphony, Simon Woods, remarked: “We’re overjoyed for John Luther Adams. As soon as we premieredBecome Ocean, we had the distinct impression that it was special. It’s a work that literally changes the way we write for orchestra. Perhaps it’s not too much to say that it’s one of the early masterpieces of the 21st century.”

Alaskan-based composer John Luther Adams has made nature the subject of his compositions for nearly four decades. Become Ocean was inspired by the oceans of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest and immerses the audience in an organic and constantly evolving sound world that reflects the natural environment with an orchestral technique that is deeply original and unique to Adams. Adams explains: “My music has led me beyond landscape painting with tones into the larger territory of ‘sonic geography’ – a region that lies somewhere between place and culture, between human imagination and the world around us. My music is going inexorably from being about place tobecoming place.” The score includes a message from the composer, which reads, “Life on this earth emerged from the sea. As the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans face the prospect that once again we may quite literally become ocean.” Regarding the world premiere of Adams’ work, The New Yorker wrote, “It may be the loveliest apocalypse in musical history.” For a brief video clip about Become Oceanclick here.  

Tuesday, May 6, 2014, at 7:30pm
Carnegie Hall
Spring for Music 
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Seattle Symphony

JOHN LUTHER ADAMS               Become Ocean
EDGARD VARÈSE                         Déserts
CLAUDE DEBUSSY                        La Mer ("The Sea")

http://www.springformusic.com/seattle-symphony/


About John Luther Adams

Called "one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century" (Alex Ross, The New Yorker), John Luther Adams is a composer whose life and work are deeply rooted in the natural world. He composes for orchestra, chamber ensembles, percussion and electronic media, and his music is recorded on Cold Blue, New World, Mode, Cantaloupe, and New Albion. A recipient of the Heinz Award for his contributions to raising environmental awareness, Adams has also been honored with the Nemmers Prize from Northwestern University "for melding the physical and musical worlds into a unique artistic vision that transcends stylistic boundaries."

 
John Luther Adams's music is heard regularly all over the world. The Chicago Symphony, the Radio Netherlands Philharmonic, and the Melbourne Symphony have performed his Dark Waves for large orchestra and electronic sounds. Inuksuit for up to ninety-nine percussionists has been performed in New York City's Morningside Park and at the Park Avenue Armory, as well as many other outdoor venues throughout the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Adams is the author of Winter Music (2004), a collection of essays, journal entries and reflections on his life and work in Alaska. The subject of his second book is The Place Where You Go to Listen (2009) his installation at the Museum of the North that translates geophysical data streams into an ever-changing environment of sound and light. The Farthest Place (2012), a book-length critical study of John Luther Adams's music, includes essays by Kyle Gann, Steven Schick, Glenn Kotche and many other prominent musicians and scholars.

Adams has taught at Harvard University, the Oberlin Conservatory, Bennington College, and the University of Alaska. He has been composer in residence with the Anchorage Symphony, Anchorage Opera, Fairbanks Symphony, Arctic Chamber Orchestra, and the Alaska Public Radio Network, and he has served as president of the American Music Center.

Born in 1953, Adams grew up in the South and in the suburbs of New York City. He studied composition with James Tenney and Leonard Stein at the California Institute of the Arts, where he was in the first graduating class (in 1973). In the mid-1970s he became active in the campaign for the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and subsequently served as executive director of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center.

About the Seattle Symphony

The Seattle Symphony, founded in 1903, is recognized as a major symphonic orchestra in the United States and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. Under the leadership of Music Director Ludovic Morlot the Symphony is heard live from September through July by more than 315,000 people. Its innovative education and community engagement programs reach over 100,000 children and adults each year. The orchestra has completed more than 140 recordings, received twelve Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades. The Seattle Symphony performs in one of the world’s finest concert venues – the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall – in downtown Seattle.                                                        

Generous support for the commissioning of John Luther Adams’ Become Ocean has been provided by Brian and Lynn Grant.
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