John Adams: Gnarly Buttons; John’s Book of Alleged Dances
Michael Collins, clarinet; London Sinfonietta, John Adams, conductor; Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra subscribers will be hearing and seeing quite a bit of Adams, as composer and conductor, next season. Here, as a foretaste, are two of his most recent works. “Gnarly Buttons” (1996) is a clarinet concerto in all but name, commissioned by the London Sinfonietta and Milwaukee’s Present Music ensemble for British clarinetist Michael Collins, who makes classical virtuosity and ’90s-hip sound synonymous. Protestant shape-note hymns,
Benny Goodman and mad cows all are tossed into this musical Cuisinart, with exhilarating results. “John’s Book of Alleged Dances” (1994) is Adams’ love letter (in 11 parts bearing such titles as “Toot Nipple” and “Dogjam”) to the Kronos Quartet. Wildly eclectic, the dances (“alleged” because “the steps for them have not yet been invented,” according to the composer’s witty liner notes) draw on both vernacular and art-music sources for their inspiration but wind up sounding entirely like Adams in their funky, fun-house vitality.
