John Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, Augusta Read Thomas (BBC Symphony Orchestra 2019)

Great concert recording from May of last year, with Portuguese conductor Joana Carneiro taking on the BBC SSO in three works by American composers, with two UK premieres in its first half.  The concert has its ideal curtain-raiser in Radiant Circles by Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964, New York), with its luminous harmonies gradually spiralling into a brass fanfare.

Next up is Osvaldo Golijov's (b. 1960, La Plata, Argentina) bewitching cantata Oceana.  Taking its text from Pablo Neruda, the work incorporates Latin American influences (especially in the guitars), inspiration from Bach, and evokes the rolling ocean in its lead voice and massed choral forces.  Falling away to ritual incantations at its end, it's a memorable journey that made me want to explore Golijov further.

Lastly, the main event of the concert is John Adams' symphonic work Naive And Sentimental Music.  The first movement takes a simple melody over strummed chords and gradually works it into something complex and stunning in its scope.  The second, Mother Of The Man, is a slow movement inspired by a Busoni berceuse, before the explosive finale Chain To The Rhythm takes a trademark minimalist pulse and builds on it.  Wonderful stuff, superbly rendered.

link
pw: sgtg

John Adams at SGTG:
Shaker Loops (orchestral version)
Shaker Loops (original version) / Light Over Water
Grand Pianola Music 
The Chairman Dances, etc
The Chairman Dances (live 2020)
Road Movies, Hallelujah Junction etc
Harmonium etc (scroll past main post)