Track Listing

1. Concerto for Piano "Century Rolls": First Movement
2. Concerto for Piano "Century Rolls": Manny's Gym
3. Concerto for Piano "Century Rolls": Hail Bop
4. Lollapalooza
5. Slonimsky's Earbox

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73476 in Music
• Brand: Adams
• Released on: 2001-01-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Amazon.com
Of all the so-called minimalists working today, John Adams is the only one with any good ideas left. Witness this delightful release. The key to Adams's creativity is that he isn't bound by theoretical constraints on what "minimalism" should be. Century Rolls (1995) is a commission by Emanuel Ax, and it was inspired by the composer's listening to a CD recording of an ancient player piano. Century Rolls doesn't duplicate that sound, but it is, instead, an unexpected romp across new rhythmic territory. As for Mr. Ax, he comports himself very well, particularly in the difficult first Movement, which requires deft coordination of all forces involved. The brief Lollapalooza (1995) is more recognizably minimalist but with considerable orchestral color and shifting moods. And Slominsky's Earbox (1996) is a powerfully full-orchestra-driven canter. All this is to say that the CD is one of the best releases of Adams's career, and it will appeal to a very wide audience. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews

Adam's Piano Concerto Century Rolls FINALLY on disc
Let me say that any fan of modern piano concertos or of John Adams MUST have this disc. You owe it to yourself to hear the piano concerto entitled Century Rolls. I have ben familiar with this piece for almost two years. I have heard live concerts and have several taped performances.

The live performances that I attended remain most vividly in my memory in that you have to be in the space in which the piece is being played in order to hear all the dramatic and subtle effects. I have three taped perfromances all with Ax at the piano and with Adams, Eschenbach, and Tilson Thomas conducting. I have heard it live with David Robertson and Dohnanyi conducting. Though the emphasis is on the extensive workout the pianist has to give, it is also a virtuosic tour-de-force for the conductor to bring off.

The first movement lasts over 14 minutes and the pianist plays for almost all of the time. This movement is the most varied in terms of sound quantity. The movement begins with woodwind chirping and eventually reaches sudden and dramatic outbursts from the orchestra. The second movement can compare with Ravel's second movement of his G major concerto in terms of limpid and loving sound. It casts the same spell and never lets go. The beginning of the movement has the resonance of the ending of the first movement lingering in the air. The third movement is a rollercoaster of a ride from beginning to end and ,again, resembles the third movement of the Ravel concerto.

I have always loved Adams' music from the first time I heard Harmonium almost 20 years ago. I equally enjoy Harmonielehre, Shaker Loops (the orchestral version) and the Violin Concerto.

Dohnanyi and the Cleveland Orchestra are not the ideal pairing I would have hoped for in this piece. I would have preferred Slatkin and St. Louis or Tilson Thomas and San Francisco. The Clevelend Orchestra plays gorgeously and Dohnanyi is the virtuoso conductor necessary for the piece, but there is a lack of abandonment and exhiliration missing.

Only a digital recording on a cd could do this piece justice because of all the subtle effects and sudden dramatic outbursts. Play this piece at the loudest setting you can without breaking your walls or your lease.

I gave this recording five stars because at last we have a recording of Century Rolls, and a superior one at that.

Thus far my favorite John Adams recording
As much as I love Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Mozart, etc. I still cannot help but yearn for modern composers who are inspired by modern sounds, human experiences and emotions as the foundations for creating acoustic orchestral music. For me John Adams is one of the few who is successfully doing just this. I don't believe he's doing anything different than composers like Dvorak, Bartok, and Kodaly over one hundred years ago who based much of their works on ethnic popular folk music. Western music has a such a tremendous legacy, I'm glad to see it being advanced by Adams's genius. All three pieces, Century Rolls, Lollapalooza, and Slonimsky's Earbox I find fun and intriguing to listen to. May be they do not take me to the heavens like Mozart's 41st or Beethoven's 5th, but they nonetheless deserve careful attention before being dismissed as reactionary.

Century Rolls is dazzling!
I was making a nearly blind guess when I bought this CD; I had made my decision based solely on the audio exerpts from Amazon.
But it was well worth the risk.

The CD contains an engaging 50 or so minutes of John Adams' finest, apart from Short Ride in a Fast Machine, my favourite of his. I am in to contemporary classical and I am glad I have this CD. The fluid and smooth tinkerings of Manny's Gym, the envigorating jazz powering Lollapalooza and the surprising jabs strewn throughout Hail Bop is just some of the great stuff on this CD you'll find. So if you are unsure about buying this recording, you will probably really enjoy it, especially if you are familiar with John Adams or other contemporary music.