The John Adams Reader: Essential Writings on an American Composer

Thomas Robert May

AMADEUS Press, 2006 - Music - 455 pages

(Amadeus). The John Adams Reader: Essential Writings on an American Composer gathers a colorful and wide-ranging selection of pieces from leading musical commentators and critics. Included are revealing interviews with the composer as well as eloquent essays by Ingram Marshall, Michael Steinberg, Alex Ross, Sarah Cahill, Alan Rich, and many others. Editor Thomas May has grouped this collection into four sections: profiles of the artist (including a fascinating memory piece from Ingram Marshall on Adams's early San Francisco years), detailed essays on the major works, interviews with some leading collaborators and interpreters, and critical reception. This reader should be of use both as an introduction for the general reader to a preeminently significant American artist and as a reference for the more serious student or scholar.

What people are saying

Review: The John Adams Reader: Eseential Writings on an American Composer

User Review  - Lisa - Goodreads

An excellent window into John Adams for those of us trying to understand his music. I saw "Nixon in China" a few weeks ago and am still trying to understand what John Adams was trying to do, so it's ...

Review: The John Adams Reader: Eseential Writings on an American Composer

User Review  - Stevtomato - Goodreads

Quite an enjoyable book to read. I jut wished there had been more analysis on the music.

About the author

Thomas May is associate professor and director of Graduate Studies in Bioethics at the Center for the Study of Bioethics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The John Adams Reader: Essential Writings on an American Composer; Amadeus Series
• Editor: Thomas Robert May
• Publisher: AMADEUS Press, 2006
• ISBN: 1574671324, 9781574671322
• Length: 455 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Composers & Musicians; Music / History & Criticism; Music / Instruction & Study / Appreciation; Music / Instruction & Study / Composition; Performing Arts / Theater / General