Harmonium (Adams)

Harmonium is a composition for chorus and orchestra by the American composer John Adams, written in 1980-1981 for the first season of Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, California. The work is based on poetry by John Donne and Emily Dickinson and is regarded as one of the key compositions of Adams' "minimalist" period.^[1]

The work was premiered by the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Symphony Chorus, with conductor Edo de Waart, on 15 April 1981, and subsequently recorded it.^[2] The UK premiere was on 13 October 1987 at Birmingham Town Hall, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) conducted by Simon Rattle.^[3] Rattle and the CBSO gave the London premiere on 28 July 1990 at The Proms.^[4]

^ Heisinger, Brent (1989). "American Minimalism in the 1980s". American Music. 187 (4). American Music, Vol. 7, No. 4: 430–447. doi:10.2307/3051914. JSTOR 3051914.
^ John Rockwell (10 February 1985). "Expanding on Minimalist Music". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
^ Clements, Andrew (December 1987). "Reports: Birmingham". The Musical Times. 128 (1738). The Musical Times, Vol. 128, No. 1738: 706–709. doi:10.2307/964828. JSTOR 964828.
^ Rye, Matthew (November 1990). "Opera, Concert and Festival Reports: London, Proms 1". The Musical Times. 131 (1773): 606–620. doi:10.2307/966196. JSTOR 966196.

[1] Heisinger, Brent (1989). "American Minimalism in the 1980s". American Music. 187 (4). American Music, Vol. 7, No. 4: 430–447. doi:10.2307/3051914. JSTOR 3051914.

[2] John Rockwell (10 February 1985). "Expanding on Minimalist Music". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-20.

[3] Clements, Andrew (December 1987). "Reports: Birmingham". The Musical Times. 128 (1738). The Musical Times, Vol. 128, No. 1738: 706–709. doi:10.2307/964828. JSTOR 964828.

[4] Rye, Matthew (November 1990). "Opera, Concert and Festival Reports: London, Proms 1". The Musical Times. 131 (1773): 606–620. doi:10.2307/966196. JSTOR 966196.

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