Biography

The impetus for the piece was an exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris detailing the history of the "Arabian Nights" and of Scheherazade and how this story has evolved over the centuries. The casual brutality toward women that lies at the base of many of these tales prodded me to think about the many images of women oppressed or abused or violated that we see today in the news on a daily basis. In the old tale Scheherazade is the lucky one who, through her endless inventiveness, is able to save her life. But there is not much to celebrate here when one thinks that she is spared simply because of her cleverness and ability to keep on entertaining her warped, murderous husband.

Thinking about what a Scheherazade in our own time might be brought to mind some famous examples of women under threat for their lives, for example the "woman in the blue bra" in Tahrir Square, dragged through the streets, severely beaten, humiliated and physically exposed by enraged, violent men. Or the young Iranian student, Neda Agha-Soltan, who was shot to death while attending a peaceful protest in Teheran. Or women routinely attacked and even executed by religious fanatics in any number of countries—India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, wherever. The modern images that come to mind certainly aren’t exclusive to the Middle East—we see examples, if not quite so graphic nonetheless profoundly disturbing, from everywhere in the world including in our own country and even on our own college campuses.

So I was suddenly struck by the idea of a "dramatic symphony" in which the principal character role is taken by the solo violin—and she would be Scheherazade. While not having an actual story line or plot, the symphony follows a set of provocative images: a beautiful young woman with grit and personal power; a pursuit by "true believers;" a love scene (who knows…perhaps her lover is also a woman?); a scene in which she is tried by a court of religious zealots ("Scheherazade and the Men with Beards"), during which the men argue doctrine among themselves and rage and shout at her only to have her calmly respond to their accusations); and a final "escape, flight and sanctuary", which must be the archetypal dream of any woman importuned by a man or men.

I composed the piece specifically for Leila Josefowicz who has been my friend and champion of my music (and many other composers) for nearly fifteen years. Together we’ve performed my Violin Concerto and my concerto for amplified violin, The Dharma at Big Sur, many times. This work is a true collaboration and reflects a creative dialogue that went back and forth for well over a year and that I expect will continue long after the first performance. I find Leila a perfect embodiment of that kind of empowered strength and energy that a modern Scheherazade would possess.

John Adams

(Worcester, Massachusetts - 1947)
John Adams grew up in Vermont and New Hampshire where he received his first musical education from his father, with whom he studied the clarinet and played in local bands. Adams has often said how the exuberant sounds and powerful rhythm of the march have profoundly influenced his musical personality -;a path similar to that of Charles Ives at the end of the last century. In 1971, after graduating from Harvard with Leon Kirchner, Adams left New England to California. He has resided in the Bay of San Francisco.
For ten years he taught and directed at the Conservatory of Music in San Francisco, and from 1978 to 1985, was very closely associated with the San Francisco Symphony, whose Director of Music Edo de Waart will be the first advocate of his music.
Although they never followed the strict formulas of minimalism "classic", the first instrumental of Adams -, as the two solo piano pieces 1977: Phrygian Gates and China Gates, or the string septet Shaker Loops, 1978 -; repetitive use of short parts . They make tribute not only to Reich and Glass as well as Terry Riley and some of the experimental composers of the sixties. But even in his most purely minimalist compositions, what makes the work of Adams incomparable, is the high degree of imagination and invention brought to his writing, and the long and powerful dramatic progression that goes beyond minimalism.
In the seventies and eighties, the music of Adams plays a decisive role in the creation and dissemination of post-modern phase on the inside of the contemporary scholarly tradition. Reactivating the theme and harmony from the post-romantic, capturing the rhythm of traditional music and exhilarating energy of jazz and rock, his music just as much imbued with the Californian experimental spirit of the seventies, seeks to bring together through the multiple influences of American culture, in an identifiable signature and constantly renewing the paths of a synthetic language. It is probably in the symphonies that is best expressed, one after the other his humoroustic verve, made of mood swings and sharp contrasts or elegiac vein tinged with nostalgia.
Collaboration, from 1985, with Peter Sellars and Alice Goodman gives rise to the most frequently performed operas in the world of the last two decades: Nixon in China (1984-1985) and The Death of Klinghoffer (1990-1991). It will be brought to the screen in 2003 by Penny Woolcock. To follow, other works made with Peter Sellars: in 1995, "songplay" I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, in 1999-2000, El Niño, a multilingual booklet celebrating the millennium and Doctor Atomic (2005). In 2006, A Flowering Tree was created in Vienna, an opera inspired by Mozart's Magic Flute.

o 2000: prize of the Arts California State
o 2003: Pulitzer Prize for On the Transmigration of Souls.
o 2003: 3 Grammy Awards for the collection of 10 CDs of The Nonesuch John Adams Earbox "Best Classical Recording" "Best Orchestral Performance" and "Best Classical Contemporary Composition. "
o 2003: Honorary Doctorate, University of Cambridge
o 2004: First Prize for composition "Michael Ludwig Nemmers"
o 2007: Harvard Arts Medal
o 2008: Honorary Doctorate from the University of Harvard

NOTICE

"Cité Noir" is a symphony inspired by the particular ambience of a film noir of Los Angeles, specifically those produced in the late 40's, early 50.

My music is a tribute to the aesthetics of the time. It has no direct link with the film music of that period.

It is the third part of a triptych of orchestral works that have the theme of California life, its landscape and its culture.

The two previous works are "The Dharma at Big Sur" (also commissioned by The Los Angeles Philharmonic) and "El Dorado" (commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony).

"Cité sNoir" was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in association with the London Symphony Orchestra, City of Music and ZaterdagMatinee.

John Adams