John Adams

Sound

John Adams

Born February 15, 1947 · Worcester, Massachusetts, USA (age 79)

John Adams is an American musician, conductor, and music composer. Together with Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Terry Riley, he is one of the most famous representatives of minimal music.

Known For

Call Me by Your NameCall Me by Your Name · 2017
Call Me by Your Name
★ 8.12017
MovieRomanceDrama
In the summer of 1983, a 17-year-old Elio spends his days in his family's villa in Italy. One day Oliver, a graduate student, arrives to assist Elio's father, a professor of Greco-Roman culture. Soon, Elio and Oliver discover a summer that will alter their lives forever.
I Am LoveI Am Love · 2010
I Am Love
★ 6.72010
MovieDramaRomance
Emma has left Russia to live with her husband in Italy. Now a member of a powerful industrial family, she is the respected mother of three, but feels unfulfilled. One day, Antonio, a talented chef and her son's friend, makes her senses kindle.
John Adams: Nixon in ChinaJohn Adams: Nixon in China · 2012
John Adams: Nixon in China
★ 7.02012
MovieMusicHistory
2012 telecast production of John Adams's opera Nixon in China, recorded at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France.
John Adams: Nixon in ChinaJohn Adams: Nixon in China · 2019
John Adams: Nixon in China
★ 10.02019
MovieMusic
Besides the landing on the moon by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Richard Nixon’s meeting with China’s leader Mao Zedong in February 1972 then represented one of the biggest media spectacles in history. Nixon himself established the reference between the two events: “We came in peace for all mankind” not only marked the lunar module Eagle’s landing spot – Nixon also spoke of it into the microphones just before his departure to China. It was not John Adam’s aim to create a superficial or even a caricaturing representation of Nixon’s visit when composing his opera. He attempted to create a “heroic opera” about the construction of modern myths by using archetypical characters and situations. Director Marco Štorman stages Adams’ minimal music opera as a deconstruction review about the power of images, the politics of staging and the staging of politics.
Adams: Doctor AtomicAdams: Doctor Atomic · 2008
Adams: Doctor Atomic
2008
MovieMusic
John Adams’s mesmerizing score, in the powerful production of Penny Woolcock, tells the story of one of the pivotal moments in human history—the creation of the atomic bomb. Conducted by Alan Gilbert in his Met debut, this gripping opera presents the human face of the scientists, military men, and others who were involved in the project, as they wrestled with the implications of their work. Baritone Gerald Finley gives a powerful star turn in the title role as the brilliant J. Robert Oppenheimer.
TartuffeTartuffe · 1978
Tartuffe
★ 7.01978
MovieComedyTV Movie
Donald Moffat stars in Moliere's classic comedy about lovable scoundrel Tartuffe, who befriends the wealthy Orgon and then attempts to seduce both his new friend's wife and daughter in this TV presentation from the Broadway Theatre Archive. Tartuffe pretends to be a pious man whose faith convinces Orgon and his family to succumb to his influence, but he's undone when his womanizing ways make it clear that his piety is a charade.
Remembering JungRemembering Jung · 1986
Remembering Jung
1986
MovieDocumentary
Gerhard Adler was born in 1904 and raised in Berlin. He took a doctorate from the University of Freiburg. When he was only 26 he began analysis with Jung. Later, with Jung’s approval, he decided to become an analyst himself. Shortly after Hitler came to power, he moved to London where he became a leading Jungian analyst and a co-founder of the original Jungian training society. He was chosen by Jung, along with Dr. Michael Fordham, to edit the Collected Works of Jung in English and was co-editor with Aniela Jaffe of Jung’s Letters, Vol I & II.
The Death of KlinghofferThe Death of Klinghoffer · 2026
The Death of Klinghoffer
2026
MovieMusicHistory
An opera in a prologue and two acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman, inspired by the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro. Conducted by Lawrence Renes, directed and designed by Luca Guadagnino. A new production by the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Filmography

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John Adams: Nixon in ChinaJohn Adams: Nixon in China · 2019
John Adams: Nixon in China
★ 10.02019
MovieMusic
Besides the landing on the moon by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Richard Nixon’s meeting with China’s leader Mao Zedong in February 1972 then represented one of the biggest media spectacles in history. Nixon himself established the reference between the two events: “We came in peace for all mankind” not only marked the lunar module Eagle’s landing spot – Nixon also spoke of it into the microphones just before his departure to China. It was not John Adam’s aim to create a superficial or even a caricaturing representation of Nixon’s visit when composing his opera. He attempted to create a “heroic opera” about the construction of modern myths by using archetypical characters and situations. Director Marco Štorman stages Adams’ minimal music opera as a deconstruction review about the power of images, the politics of staging and the staging of politics.

Original Music Composer

John Adams: The Gospel According to the Other MaryJohn Adams: The Gospel According to the Other Mary · 2017
John Adams: The Gospel According to the Other Mary
2017
MovieMusic
Sir Simon Rattle, the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Rundfunkchor Berlin give an impeccable performance of the powerful biblical oratorio “The Gospel According to the Other Mary” by John Adams, one of the most renowned contemporary composers. The sophisticated score with a libretto by acclaimed theatre director Peter Sellars comes to life thanks to the Berliner Philharmoniker, whose intimate knowledge of Adams’s music stems from the composer himself: He attended the orchestra’s rehearsals. In the role of the Evangelist, Bubeck, Cummings and Medley lead through the narrative. A stunning highlight is Lazarus’s aria, sung by tenor Peter Hoare. But at the heart of the piece are Mary Magdalene and her sister Martha during the last days before Jesus’s death, impressively performed by mezzo-sopranos Kelley O’Connor and Tamara Mumford.

Original Music Composer

John Adams: Nixon in ChinaJohn Adams: Nixon in China · 2023
John Adams: Nixon in China
★ 4.02023
MovieMusic
In February 1972, the American president Richard Nixon went to China to meet Mao Zedong. In the context of the war in Vietnam and the cold war, this encounter marked a turning point in Chinese‑American relations. John Adams, a major musical figure of the last forty years, made this event of contemporary history the subject of his first opera. Nixon in China tackles the political thaw instigated by ping-pong diplomacy, begun by the invitation of the American table tennis players by their Chinese counterparts, one year before the presidential visit. A mesmerising work in which the pulsations and repetitions typical of minimalism are combined with melodic lines of great lyricism. For its entry into the Paris Opera repertoire, this work has been entrusted to the director Valentina Carrasco, who underlines the importance and the mediating power of Chinese national sport in history.

Original Music Composer

The Unanswered Ives - Wunderkind. Wall-Street-Gigant. KlangpionierThe Unanswered Ives - Wunderkind. Wall-Street-Gigant. Klangpionier · 2019
The Unanswered Ives - Wunderkind. Wall-Street-Gigant. Klangpionier
2019
MovieDocumentary
The Unanswered Ives is the first film about Charles Ives (1874-1954), an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. The 60-minute documentary sheds light on Ives' life and work in all its facets and inconsistencies. American singer and composer Frank Zappa included Charles Ives in a list of influences that he presented in the liner notes of his debut album Freak Out! (1966). Ives continues to influence contemporary composers, arrangers and musicians. Planet Arts Records released Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra. Ives befriended and encouraged a young Elliott Carter. In addition, Phil Lesh, bassist of the Grateful Dead, has described Ives as one of his two musical heroes.
The Death of KlinghofferThe Death of Klinghoffer · 2003
The Death of Klinghoffer
★ 6.22003
MovieDramaMusic
An adaptation from the controversial John Adams opera about the true life incident that took place in the mid 80s. The liner "Achille Lauro" is on a 12-day cruise in the Mediterranean. While the ship is docked in Alexandria, a maid discovers that four of the passengers are actually members of the Palestine Liberation Organization traveling incognito. Startled by their discovery, the PLO cadre is forced to act. They take the passengers on board hostage and demand the release of 50 Palestinian activists held in Israeli jails. As Egyptian, American, Italian, and Palestinian authorities bicker over the best way to handle the situation (and who would negotiate with the terrorists), the kidnappers find themselves dealing with rebellion among their captives, and an argument between the four PLO members and Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American confined to a wheelchair, eventually escalates into violence.

Original Music Composer