On Tour in Paris

The evening

A feast of music by John Adams including the fizzing Short Ride and a coruscating piano concerto composed for this concert’s soloist, Víkingur Ólafsson.

Melodic, addictively rhythmic, uplifting and celebratory, the music of John Adams is a treat for the ears. Tonight’s concert, part of a series marking his 80th birthday, features the most exuberant of his many works, from the white heat of Short Ride in a Fast Machine to the urgent minimalist energy of ‘The Chairman Dances’ from Adams’ opera Nixon in China.

Shaker Loops, inspired by the tape loops often used in minimalist music, is intended to convey something of the ecstasy said to be experienced by the Shaker religious sect community. Composed in 2024, the piano concerto After the Fall drags the Baroque era headlong into the 21st century with music of iridescent beauty.

It will be a rare treat to see John Adams on the podium alongside his piano concerto’s dedicatee, Víkingur Ólafsson. Expect music-making of undiluted joy.