Adams: Absolute Jest & Grand Pianola Music

Label: SFS Media [SFS 0063]
Released: August 14, 2015

One of NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums of 2015

Orli Shaham & Marc-André Hamelin, pianos
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Synergy Vocals

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony join forces with America’s most-performed living composer, John Adams, in a colossal album featuring Adams’ Absolute Jest and Grand Pianola Music. Hear Adams’ inspired and witty take on Beethoven’s spirited scherzos in this first-ever recording of his SFS-commissioned Absolute Jest. Also featured is Grand Pianola Music, with its tongue-in-cheek allusions to Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, written for and premiered by the SFS. Both works speak to the deeply personal and vital relationship of some of the top musicians of our time: John Adams, MTT, and the San Francisco Symphony.