THOMAS ADES

THOMAS ADES

Born in 1971, British composer Thomas Adès has rapidly gained an international standing as one of the most exciting voices among the newest generation of composers. His debut release, Life Story, revealed an amazing facility for experimenting with sonic colors, while the 1997 opera Powder Her Face--a polystylistic amalgam of savage comedy and tragic pathos--grabbed attention as a work of stunningly effective theatricality. The music gathered on this disc ranges from early works when Adès was still considered a composer of "promise" to more recent ones that announce a full-fledged artist. The Chamber Symphony involves a jaunty, coloristic interplay between basset clarinet and an unconventional ensemble in which the other instruments become, according to Adès, "infected with the personality of the solo instrument." "...but all shall be well" (the title from Eliot's "Four Quartets") traces an up-and-down theme through a sonic garden of delights, while "These Premises Are Alarmed" sets off a firecracker of phosphorescent virtuosity. But the centerpiece here is the title symphony for a Mahler-sized orchestra plus three pianos. "Asyla" covers a vast terrain in its 22 minutes, playing up the doubleness of its name (Latin plural of "asylum") with a chaotic exuberance of fragmented colors (hints of both Stravinsky and Ligeti), from a paranoically obsessive bedlam to the free-spirited refuge attained in the finale movement. Simon Rattle vibrantly delineates both Adès's brilliant orchestral imagination and his command of structural design. The wide-ranging "Asyla" makes a fascinating contrast with "Concerto Conciso," an implosive pocket piano concerto featuring the composer as soloist. Typically, Adès scores for an unusual ensemble of sax, strings, brass, and percussion and plays them off each other with an energetic array of cross-rhythms. Like "Asyla," this is music so rich it needs several hearings to fathom. And it's clearly the work of a composer to whom attention must be paid.

LIVING TOYS (1994)
320 KBPS

1. Living Toys, Op. 9: I: Angels
2. Living Toys, Op. 9: II: Aurochs
3. Living Toys, Op. 9: Balett
4. Living Toys, Op. 9: III: Militiamen
5. Living Toys, Op. 9: IV: H.A.L.'s Death
6. Living Toys, Op. 9: Battle
7. Living Toys, Op. 9: V: Playing Funerals
8. Living Toys, Op. 9: Tablet
9. Arcadiana op.12: I: Venezia notturna
10. Arcadiana op.12: II: Das klinget so herrlich, das klinget so schon
11. Arcadiana op.12: III: Auf dem Wasser zu singen
12. Arcadiana op.12: IV: Et... (tango mortale)
13. Arcadiana op.12: V: L'Embarquement
14. Arcadiana op.12: VI: O Albion
15. Arcadiana op.12: VII: Lethe
16. Sonata da Caccia op.11: I: Gravement
17. Sonata da Caccia op.11: II: Gayement
18. Sonata da Caccia op.11: III: Naivement
19. Sonata da Caccia op.11: IV: Galament
20. The Origin On The Harp, Op. 13: I: Dolcissimo ed espressivo
21. The Origin On The Harp, Op. 13: II: Largo con moto
22. The Origin On The Harp, Op. 13: III: Spettrale
23. The Origin On The Harp, Op. 13: IV: (untitled)
24. Gefriolsae Me, Op. 3b: Gefriolsae Me op.3b

LIFE STORY (1997)
320 KBPS

1. Catch, op.4
2. Darknesse Visible
3. Still Sorrowing, op.7
4. Under Hamelin Hill, op.6
5. Under Hamelin Hill, op.6
6. Under Hamelin Hill, op.6
7. Five Eliot Landscapes, op.1
8. Five Eliot Landscapes, op.1
9. Five Eliot Landscapes, op.1
10. Five Eliot Landscapes, op.1
11. Five Eliot Landscapes, op.1
12. Traced Overhead, op.15
13. Traced Overhead, op.15
14. Traced Overhead, op.15
15. Life Story, op.8b

ASYLA (1999)
320 KBPS

1. Asyla (for Orchestra): I
2. Asyla (for Orchestra): II
3. Asyla (for Orchestra): III
4. Asyla (for Orchestra): IV
5. Concerto Conciso (for Piano and Chamber Ensemble): I
6. Concerto Conciso (for Piano and Chamber Ensemble): II
7. Concerto Conciso (for Piano and Chamber Ensemble): [dotted crotchet = 116]
8. These Premises Are Alarmed (for large orchestra)
9. Chamber Symphony Op.2 (for fifteen players): I
10. Chamber Symphony Op.2 (for fifteen players): II
11. Chamber Symphony Op.2 (for fifteen players): III
12. Chamber Symphony Op.2 (for fifteen players): IV
13. ...but all shall be well (for orchestra)