An Atlas Of Deep Time - John Luther Adams & SDSO (2024)
This is a real joy to write up. Adams got to know my hometown symphony, Delta David Gier and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, when he came to town to give a talk before they performed his Pulitzer-winning Become Ocean.
The money quote from that New Yorker article is from Adams:
I’m used to audacious orchestras outside the cultural capitals who don’t know what they’re not supposed to be able to do.
The conversation has led to SDSO commissioning and premiering this work.
As with everything Adams, his work is really designed as a live experience in a performance space. Some of the detail is lost when you break it all down to two stereo channels. But what remains is an expansive experience designed to take you through the geological history of Earth.
