John Adams is one of the most significant composers today and his music is probably the most played of any living American composer. After completing his education at Harvard University, John Adams got his start as a professional composer while teaching at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in the 1970's. Adams was inspired by the minimalist music of Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Teri Riley and decided to take his method of composition in that direction. Minimalist music is characterized by slowly-evolving musical materials through layering and gradual, subtle shifts in tonality. Minimalist music has a tendency to put the listener into a trance. If one focuses hard enough on the music, hidden rhythms, melodies, or other relations between musical materials may be revealed which increases the pleasure of listening to the style. Some of his earliest pieces such as Shaker Loops (1978) and Phrygian Gates (1978) are in the minimalist style. Adams was able to commit more time to being a full time composer when he became composer-in-residence for the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) in 1982. It was through his association with the SFS that many of his works, such as Harmonium (1980-81) and Grand Pianola Music (1982), received their first performances. Adams achieved worldwide fame as a composer with his operas Nixon in China (1985-87) and The Death of Klinghoffer (1990-91). One of his most recent operas is Dr. Atomic (2004-05) which is about Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the world's first atomic bomb. Adams has written a couple really great concertos including two piano concertos (Eros Piano (1989) and Century Rolls (1996)), the Violin Concerto (1993) and Dharma at Big Sur (2003), which is a electric-violin concerto. Adams received a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for his work, On the Transmigration of Souls (2002), which is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. John Adams continues to compose to this day (his most recently published work was City Noir (2009)) and I think that he will be recognized as one of the most significant composers in the history of American art music and even the World.
Part of what draws me to this composer is the fact that his compositions are always in keeping with the modern trends in music. His use of electronic instruments in his pieces adds a modern feel to his pieces and I think that it is really important for the world of classical music to adopt newer technologies. John Adams's minimalism is really great because it seems so epic in scale. Adams's minimalism can be contrasted with the minimalism of Steve Reich because of its scope. A lot of the music Steve Reich is "phase music", where a recording is continuously looped and duplicated over itself. I like Adams's minimalism because it combines recorded materials with live acoustic instruments. One that I really prefer is known as Light Over Water (1983), which is a three-movement minimalist symphony with seven brass players and synthesizer. Adams keeps our interest in this piece by experimenting with funky rhythms, layerings, and tone colors between the various brass instruments and synthesizer.
Suggested Listening: One of John Adams's most popular pieces is the Fanfare for Orchestra, Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986). It is in the minimalist style that Adams became so famous for.
http://www.earbox.com/
This Website is John Adams's official website. It features John Adams's Biography, Works, Links & Interviews, information about his book Hallelujah Junction, and his blog known as "Hell Mouth".
http://johnadamscomposer.com/
This website is a fansite about John Adams. It too features a Biography of John Adams, but also has different sections about Adams's opera Nixon in China and Minimalist Music.
http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&ComposerId_2872=10
This is the official G. Schirmer website, which is one of the biggest sheet music publisher. G. Schimer publishes works by John Adams and the