Leila Josefowicz and John Adams, a Musical Jouney to "The Dharma at Big Sur"
Leila Josefowicz crystallizes her affinity for new music whenever she performs "The Dharma At Big Sur" with its composer, John Adams, on the podium.
She recently revisited the work with Adams conducting the National Symphony Orchestra during the Kennedy Center series "John Adams: Perspectives.
" Also on the program were his "Dr.
Atomic Symphony," along with Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes from "Peter Grimes" and Igor Stravinsky's "Feu d'artifice.
" Both Josefowicz and Adams are major contributors to 21st Century music.
She is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for her advocacy and passionate commitment to contemporary music.
Adams, regarded as one of America's most original composers, has produced both opera and symphonic scores that pique the senses.
His operas "Nixon in China," "The Death of Klinghoffer" and "Doctor Atomic" draw on contemporary individuals and events, while California's rugged coastline is the focus of "The Dharma at Big Sur," a reference to the teachings of the Buddha that Jack Kerouac and his fellow Beat poets incorporated into their writing.
His goal in composing it for the opening of Disney Hall in Los Angeles was to express the feelings of a newcomer to the Pacific Coast, as he had been four decades earlier.
During the Kennedy Center concert, I recognized, one by one, the musical references he incorporated from many different cultures.
They are the themes of newcomers from many climes who have emigrated to California and adopted it as their home.
The final notes exploding from the electric violin illuminate the shock the new arrival must feel upon viewing the thundering ocean at Big Sur.
Josefowicz performs this work not on her magnificent Del Gesu violin dated 1724, but on the six-string instrument with amplification from a mixing board in the auditorium.
She explained that it took a long time to adapt to an instrument with six strings that go down in fifths.
"You end up playing in the cello range and that's a real blast," she said.
"John's work has a very Eastern sound and a lot of other unusual things that come together.
Even though there are big risks involved, it's a real joy to play.
John is all about breaking the mold and putting on a stampede of elephants.
" Josefowicz and Adams have performed "The Dharma at Big Sur" throughout the world.
Because the electric violin requires an expert sound athority, she always takes along a world class sound designer she trusts who works at the back of the hall.
Adams is but one of the many contemporary composers who admires Josefowicz's virtuosity.
Among the commissions dedicated to her, she recently premiered "Beautiful Passing" by Steve Mackey, Colin Matthews' Violin Concerto and Esa-Pekka Salonen's high octane Violin Concerto for the auspicious occasion of his final concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
For the next few years, the two will take it worldwide, beginning in June with the New York City Ballet.
Meanwhile, whenever the opportunity arises, she will join Adams on stage for "The Dharma at Big Sur.
" She says that it remains one of her favorite works for its great contrasts, extensive musical vocabulary, and the thrill of knowing that people will come to hear her perform something so new and different.
She recently revisited the work with Adams conducting the National Symphony Orchestra during the Kennedy Center series "John Adams: Perspectives.
" Also on the program were his "Dr.
Atomic Symphony," along with Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes from "Peter Grimes" and Igor Stravinsky's "Feu d'artifice.
" Both Josefowicz and Adams are major contributors to 21st Century music.
She is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for her advocacy and passionate commitment to contemporary music.
Adams, regarded as one of America's most original composers, has produced both opera and symphonic scores that pique the senses.
His operas "Nixon in China," "The Death of Klinghoffer" and "Doctor Atomic" draw on contemporary individuals and events, while California's rugged coastline is the focus of "The Dharma at Big Sur," a reference to the teachings of the Buddha that Jack Kerouac and his fellow Beat poets incorporated into their writing.
His goal in composing it for the opening of Disney Hall in Los Angeles was to express the feelings of a newcomer to the Pacific Coast, as he had been four decades earlier.
During the Kennedy Center concert, I recognized, one by one, the musical references he incorporated from many different cultures.
They are the themes of newcomers from many climes who have emigrated to California and adopted it as their home.
The final notes exploding from the electric violin illuminate the shock the new arrival must feel upon viewing the thundering ocean at Big Sur.
Josefowicz performs this work not on her magnificent Del Gesu violin dated 1724, but on the six-string instrument with amplification from a mixing board in the auditorium.
She explained that it took a long time to adapt to an instrument with six strings that go down in fifths.
"You end up playing in the cello range and that's a real blast," she said.
"John's work has a very Eastern sound and a lot of other unusual things that come together.
Even though there are big risks involved, it's a real joy to play.
John is all about breaking the mold and putting on a stampede of elephants.
" Josefowicz and Adams have performed "The Dharma at Big Sur" throughout the world.
Because the electric violin requires an expert sound athority, she always takes along a world class sound designer she trusts who works at the back of the hall.
Adams is but one of the many contemporary composers who admires Josefowicz's virtuosity.
Among the commissions dedicated to her, she recently premiered "Beautiful Passing" by Steve Mackey, Colin Matthews' Violin Concerto and Esa-Pekka Salonen's high octane Violin Concerto for the auspicious occasion of his final concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
For the next few years, the two will take it worldwide, beginning in June with the New York City Ballet.
Meanwhile, whenever the opportunity arises, she will join Adams on stage for "The Dharma at Big Sur.
" She says that it remains one of her favorite works for its great contrasts, extensive musical vocabulary, and the thrill of knowing that people will come to hear her perform something so new and different.
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