March 7th of this year marked the world premiere of a new piano concerto by composer John Adams. Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? was played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Yuja Wang as soloist. Gustavo Dudamel lead the Phil for those first four performances. They all toured with this work as well and are now returning back to Los Angeles for a concert on Thursday night at the Hollywood Bowl.
What will be fascinating about this performance of the concerto is to see how Wang and the Philharmonic have embraced this piece and what, if any, new insights can be gleaned from this performance. After all, Adams wrote it specifically for her.
The world premiere was phenomenal. It’s a challenging and amazing piece of writing. I, for one, can’t wait to see this performance and hope a formal recording will soon follow.
Also on the bill are two familiar works. Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Or as some might call it, the music from Platoon. The evening concludes with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony #4.
The symphony was written during one of the most tumultuous times in the composer’s life. Struggling with his homosexuality, he turned to one woman as his asexual confidant. He also had a failed marriage with another. Add into this a suicide attempt. All that emotion and angst is wrapped up in this symphony.
It seems as though if Tchaikovsky were to answer the question posed by the title of the John Adams piano concerto, the answer would be a resounding yes.
For tickets go here.
Photo of John Adams by Vern Evans/Courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
Photo fo Yuja Wang by Norbert Kniat/Courtesy of Kanzen Arts
