Force fields

Immense energies that sweep the audience away and create an irresistible pull: this is what John Luther Adams (not to be confused with John Adams) and Dieter Ammann represent. Their musical languages ​​could not be more different. And yet, both create vibrant, exceptionally natural and organically designed fabrics and structures. In Adams' work, a strong connection to nature is omnipresent, as the "Become" trilogy alone demonstrates.

In addition to "Become Ocean" from 2013, the collection also includes "Become River" from 2010 and "Become Desert" from 2017. All three pieces are shaped by the places where Adams worked. Before moving to the Sonoran Desert in the southern United States and northern Mexico, Adams lived in Alaska. "Become Ocean" evokes the Pacific coast there. The three orchestral groups intensify at a slow tempo until a captivating, almost intoxicating pull gradually develops.

The pressing urgency of climate change resonates throughout. "As the polar ice melts and sea levels rise, we humans are once again in danger of literally becoming the ocean," Adams remarks on "Become Ocean." In contrast, the Swiss composer Ammann, also known as a jazz and rock musician, works with highly energetic force fields in his 2016/19 piano concerto "Gran Toccata.".

The music explores not only the piano's sonic and performative potential, but also its physical, tactile, and performative aspects. "Not a second of downtime, everything vibrant and, in the most beautiful sense, interwoven with lines of force," said composer Wolfgang Rihm, who passed away at the end of July 2024, about the music of the multi-stylist and boundary-crosser Ammann.