John Adams conductor Jonathan Biss piano John Adams: Harmonielehre Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, "Emperor"Adams spoke at the beginning of the concert, saying how fortunate to both compose and conduct. Don't know if he'll do the same for the next 2 performances. He is a very energetic conductor. His symphony is loud, except for the very beginning of the 3rd movement. Big orchestra filled to the brim of the stage, 5 guys on percussion, who had to move about their toys. It started rhythmic repetition without much of any melody, but not entire atonal either. I'm not sure I enjoyed it, but I'm glad to have heard it. Beethoven's, in comparison, is music to the ears. Smaller orchestra (~20% less string, ~60% less wind, only 1 on percussion). Biss is a little too loud in my opinion. But the transition between the 2nd and 3rd movement was done beautifully. The audience loved him. He has a way of swaying his body when playing, and leaning back so much after he's done with a segment, that I feared he would fall off the chair. In 3 occasions, I believe (not certain), I could hear his seemingly intentional heavy breathing when playing strong notes, in the same tempo.
After the concert, two of them changed attires and appeared in the lobby to answer questions, which is very gracious of them. One German lady corrected Adams' pronunciation of the title of his own symphony. Whoever spoke lauded them. I took some note of 2 music pieces to check out later.
