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Press Releases
John Adams Conducts the Juilliard and Royal Academy of Music Orchestras at BBC Proms 2012
New York’s Juilliard and London’s Royal Academy of Music orchestras join forces for a concert at the BBC Proms in London this summer at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday, July 16, 2012 at 19:30 (7:30 PM). Composer/conductor John Adams leads the orchestras, and British pianist Imogen Cooper is soloist in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major, in a program that also features Respighi’s Feste romane (Roman Festivals), and John Adams’ own jazz-inflected major symphonic work, City Noir (performed last season by the Juilliard Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, February 18, 2011). Tickets for the BBC Proms July 16th concert are available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms.
This is the second appearance for the combined Juilliard and Royal Academy of Music orchestras at the legendary BBC Proms. They performed together during Juilliard’s centennial season in 2005-06 with conductor Sir Colin Davis, and the conservatories have cooperated on unique and interesting projects, including television appearances and commissioning works. In 2004, Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Music collaborated on performances at Radio City Music Hall with Sir Elton John, who is an alumnus of the Royal Academy of Music.
On Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 7:30 PM in Avery Fisher Hall, the Lincoln Center Festival presents a New York City ‘preview’ of the concert. Tickets for the New York performance are $15 and $30 and are available online at http://www.lincolncenter.org, by phone through CenterCharge at (212) 721-0965 (daily 10 AM – 9 PM), or in person at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office. Please visit the Lincoln Center Festival Web site at http://www.lincolncenterfestival.org for special offers. The July 11 concert is presented in association with The Juilliard School.
About John Adams
Composer, conductor and creative thinker - John Adams occupies a unique position in the world of American music. His works, both operatic and symphonic, stand out among contemporary classical compositions for their depth of expression, brilliance of sound, and the profoundly humanist nature of their themes. Over the past 25 years, Mr. Adams’ music has played a decisive role in turning the tide of contemporary musical aesthetics away from academic modernism and toward a more expansive, expressive language, entirely characteristic of his New World surroundings.
Born and raised in New England and educated at Harvard, John Adams moved in 1971 to California, where he taught for ten years at the San Francisco Conservatory and was composer-in-residence at the San Francisco Symphony.
Mr. Adams’ operatic works are among the most successful of our time. Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, and Doctor Adams, all created in collaboration with stage director Peter Sellars, draw their subjects from archetypical themes in contemporary history.
On the Transmigration of Souls, written for the New York Philharmonic to mark the first anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and won a rare “triple crown” of Grammy awards: “Best Classical recording”, “Best Orchestral Performance”, and “Best Classical Contemporary Composition.”
City Noir, a 35-minute orchestral work performed on these concerts, that takes as its jump-off point the “noir” sensibility of Los Angeles culture, was premiered by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert televised worldwide and toured around the United States.
Mr. Adams holds honorary degrees and proclamations from The Juilliard School, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Yale School of Music, Phi Beta Kappa, the National Endowment for the Arts, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, the French Legion of Honor, and Northwestern University, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate and the first Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition.
His music has been recorded on Nonesuch Records, and his autobiography, Hallelujah Junction (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) was named one of the ‘most notable books” of 2008 by The New York Times.
Mr. Adams is active as a conductor, appearing with the world’s greatest orchestras. He currently is the Creative Chair for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The official John Adams Web site is www.earbox.com.
About Imogen Cooper
Recognized worldwide as a pianist of virtuosity and poetic poise, Imogen Cooper has established a reputation as one of the finest interpreters of the classical repertoire. She has dazzled audiences and orchestras throughout her distinguished career, bringing to the concert platform her unique musical understanding and lyrical quality.
In the 2011-2012 season, Ms. Cooper’s concerto performances included the Hallé (Mark Elder), Northern Sinfonia (Thierry Fischer), and Music of the Baroque (Jane Glover). Her solo recitals took her to the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, to Mainz, Minnesota, and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. In the fall, she had an extensive solo recital tour in Japan, including a performance in Tokyo. During 2011, she performed in three concerts as part of the Mozart Unwrapped series at Kings Place in London.
Ms. Cooper is a committed chamber music player and performs regularly with the Belcea Quartet. As a Lieder recitalist, she has had a long collaboration with Wolfgang Holzmair. She also performs frequently with Sonia Wieder-Atherton, and their recordings include a CD set of Brahms Sonatas and Bach (RCA). Wolfgang Holzmair and Sonia Wieder-Atherton are also featured in the box set, Imogen Cooper and Friends, encompassing solo, chamber, and Lieder works (Philips). She has recorded six Mozart Concertos with the Northern Sinfonia (Avie) and a solo recital at the Wigmore Hall (Wigmore Live).
Ms. Cooper received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2007 and was the recipient of an award from the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2008. In 1999, she was made a Doctor of Music at Exeter University.
Juilliard Orchestra/Royal Academy of Music Orchestra
Known for its versatility and the freshness of its performances, the Juilliard Orchestra performs frequently on its own New York City series each season and is a strong partner to Juilliard’s operatic and dance performances. Guest conductors have included James Conlon, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Nicholas McGegan, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, among many others. Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, is Juilliard’s Director of Orchestral and Conducting Studies.
Performance is the essential driving force behind all activities at the Royal Academy of Music, and Academy orchestras have recently worked with illustrious musicians including Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Semyon Bychkov, Sir Mark Elder, Leon Fleisher, Sir Simon Rattle, Christian Thielemann, Trevor Pinnock, and Mitsuko Uchida. Principal players from the major orchestras in Berlin, Amsterdam, Lucerne, and all across Britain, teach at the Academy, along with household names, such as Maxim Vengerov and Barbara Bonney.
This has been a busy year for both schools as they continue their long-established relationship. The Juilliard School and the Royal Academy of Music collaborated last year on the commissioning and premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ opera, Kommilitonen!, which was critically praised in both London and NYC and was recently short-listed for the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards (www.royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk), in association with BBC Radio 3, in the category of Opera and Music Theatre Award. The RPS Music Awards will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, May 8, 2012, at The Dorchester Hotel in London.
This is the second appearance for the combined Juilliard and Royal Academy of Music orchestras at the legendary BBC Proms. They performed together during Juilliard’s centennial season in 2005-06 with conductor Sir Colin Davis, and the conservatories have cooperated on unique and interesting projects, including television appearances and commissioning works. In 2004, Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Music collaborated on performances at Radio City Music Hall with Sir Elton John, who is an alumnus of the Royal Academy of Music.
On Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 7:30 PM in Avery Fisher Hall, the Lincoln Center Festival presents a New York City ‘preview’ of the concert. Tickets for the New York performance are $15 and $30 and are available online at http://www.lincolncenter.org, by phone through CenterCharge at (212) 721-0965 (daily 10 AM – 9 PM), or in person at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office. Please visit the Lincoln Center Festival Web site at http://www.lincolncenterfestival.org for special offers. The July 11 concert is presented in association with The Juilliard School.
About John Adams
Composer, conductor and creative thinker - John Adams occupies a unique position in the world of American music. His works, both operatic and symphonic, stand out among contemporary classical compositions for their depth of expression, brilliance of sound, and the profoundly humanist nature of their themes. Over the past 25 years, Mr. Adams’ music has played a decisive role in turning the tide of contemporary musical aesthetics away from academic modernism and toward a more expansive, expressive language, entirely characteristic of his New World surroundings.
Born and raised in New England and educated at Harvard, John Adams moved in 1971 to California, where he taught for ten years at the San Francisco Conservatory and was composer-in-residence at the San Francisco Symphony.
Mr. Adams’ operatic works are among the most successful of our time. Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, and Doctor Adams, all created in collaboration with stage director Peter Sellars, draw their subjects from archetypical themes in contemporary history.
On the Transmigration of Souls, written for the New York Philharmonic to mark the first anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and won a rare “triple crown” of Grammy awards: “Best Classical recording”, “Best Orchestral Performance”, and “Best Classical Contemporary Composition.”
City Noir, a 35-minute orchestral work performed on these concerts, that takes as its jump-off point the “noir” sensibility of Los Angeles culture, was premiered by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert televised worldwide and toured around the United States.
Mr. Adams holds honorary degrees and proclamations from The Juilliard School, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Yale School of Music, Phi Beta Kappa, the National Endowment for the Arts, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, the French Legion of Honor, and Northwestern University, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate and the first Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition.
His music has been recorded on Nonesuch Records, and his autobiography, Hallelujah Junction (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) was named one of the ‘most notable books” of 2008 by The New York Times.
Mr. Adams is active as a conductor, appearing with the world’s greatest orchestras. He currently is the Creative Chair for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The official John Adams Web site is www.earbox.com.
About Imogen Cooper
Recognized worldwide as a pianist of virtuosity and poetic poise, Imogen Cooper has established a reputation as one of the finest interpreters of the classical repertoire. She has dazzled audiences and orchestras throughout her distinguished career, bringing to the concert platform her unique musical understanding and lyrical quality.
In the 2011-2012 season, Ms. Cooper’s concerto performances included the Hallé (Mark Elder), Northern Sinfonia (Thierry Fischer), and Music of the Baroque (Jane Glover). Her solo recitals took her to the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, to Mainz, Minnesota, and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. In the fall, she had an extensive solo recital tour in Japan, including a performance in Tokyo. During 2011, she performed in three concerts as part of the Mozart Unwrapped series at Kings Place in London.
Ms. Cooper is a committed chamber music player and performs regularly with the Belcea Quartet. As a Lieder recitalist, she has had a long collaboration with Wolfgang Holzmair. She also performs frequently with Sonia Wieder-Atherton, and their recordings include a CD set of Brahms Sonatas and Bach (RCA). Wolfgang Holzmair and Sonia Wieder-Atherton are also featured in the box set, Imogen Cooper and Friends, encompassing solo, chamber, and Lieder works (Philips). She has recorded six Mozart Concertos with the Northern Sinfonia (Avie) and a solo recital at the Wigmore Hall (Wigmore Live).
Ms. Cooper received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2007 and was the recipient of an award from the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2008. In 1999, she was made a Doctor of Music at Exeter University.
Juilliard Orchestra/Royal Academy of Music Orchestra
Known for its versatility and the freshness of its performances, the Juilliard Orchestra performs frequently on its own New York City series each season and is a strong partner to Juilliard’s operatic and dance performances. Guest conductors have included James Conlon, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Nicholas McGegan, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, among many others. Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, is Juilliard’s Director of Orchestral and Conducting Studies.
Performance is the essential driving force behind all activities at the Royal Academy of Music, and Academy orchestras have recently worked with illustrious musicians including Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Semyon Bychkov, Sir Mark Elder, Leon Fleisher, Sir Simon Rattle, Christian Thielemann, Trevor Pinnock, and Mitsuko Uchida. Principal players from the major orchestras in Berlin, Amsterdam, Lucerne, and all across Britain, teach at the Academy, along with household names, such as Maxim Vengerov and Barbara Bonney.
This has been a busy year for both schools as they continue their long-established relationship. The Juilliard School and the Royal Academy of Music collaborated last year on the commissioning and premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ opera, Kommilitonen!, which was critically praised in both London and NYC and was recently short-listed for the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards (www.royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk), in association with BBC Radio 3, in the category of Opera and Music Theatre Award. The RPS Music Awards will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, May 8, 2012, at The Dorchester Hotel in London.
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