The John Adams Almanac

In 1971, John Adams packed his life into a car and drove to California. The West Coast opened something in him; the light, the landscape, the sense that sound could be vast and connected to place.

In his 80th-birthday year, the Australian Chamber Orchestra celebrates John Adams with a special program curated by Adams and Richard Tognetti – two artists and musical friends who share an instinct for risk and pushing music forward into the unknown.

Shaker Loops announced John Adams to the world. It reaches for something primal and urgent – oscillating strings, trembling bows, the ecstatic repetition of a religious sect who shook and danced their way to transcendence. Shaker Loops marked the arrival of a major voice and feels as groundbreaking today as it did 50 years ago.

The centrepiece of the program is the world premiere of Gioia, Adams’s only new work in his anniversary year, written especially for Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra Principal Violin Satu Vänskä. Two solo violins set against the full Australian Chamber Orchestra, in the tradition of the concerto grosso: music that circulates freely, with soloists and orchestra in charged, fluid dialogue. A gift from a composer at the height of his powers to musicians he deeply admires.

Joining the Australian Chamber Orchestra is pianist and composer Timo Andres – a regular collaborator of Adams and a vital force in American music. Andres will perform a new work commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra alongside his arrangement of Flow by Ingram Marshall, a dear friend of Adams and a composer who first lit the way for Andres.

This is music as living tradition, brought to life by Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Adams is one of those contemporary voices we all need to hear and keep hearing… it's the sound and shimmer of Shaker Loops that will make you fall for this music.The Guardian

The Australian Chamber Orchestra is one of the most acclaimed chamber orchestras in the world. Led by their pioneering Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, the Orchestra is defined by its exceptional virtuosity and an irrepressible sense of adventure and curiosity.

This performance is available as a part of an Australian Chamber Orchestra 2027 Subscription. Single tickets go on sale to the general public Fri 9 Oct.