Winter Music: Composing the North

by John Luther Adams, Kyle Gann (Contributor)

Composer John Luther Adams makes his home in the boreal forest near Fairbanks, Alaska, where he has created a unique musical world grounded in the elemental landscapes and indigenous cultures of the North. Winter Music, a collection of Adams's essays, journal entries, and other writings is poetic and inspirational and delves into the environmental and cultural awareness that creates his reflective, almost spiritual, approach to music. The accompanying audio CD includes two previously unrecorded works by Adams.

Adams's music explores natural phenomena from the songs of birds, to the complex nature of chaos, fractal geometry, and elemental noise. Similarly, his writings explore "that region between place and culture, between environment and imagination," reflecting a philosophy of deep awareness that makes him one of the most original composers working today.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Art

204 pages, Hardcover

First published November 10, 2004

Reviews

[J Crouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent collection of essays, like a slightly lesser Braiding Sweetgrass for musicians. I enjoy the scope of both the directly musical and the vignettes of his life, they complement each other well in presenting his artistic perspective. I deeply resonated with many of his ideas (ecological especially), and have gained invaluable insight. Nearly a must read for contemporary composers.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays, composition notes and journal excerpts that place this book in the excellent company of John Cage's _Silence_, Harry Partch's _Genesis of a Music_, Henry Cowell's _New Musical Resources_ and Charles Ives' _Essays Before A Sonata_. Books that meant a great deal to both John Luther Adams and myself as young composers.

The substantial aesthetic and experiential overlap I share with John Luther Adams made for an exceptionally resonant reading. The echoes of our shared mentor and friend James Tenney reverberates strongly through these words. It's an inspiration to see the seeds planted by that great teacher take root in the creative process pursued by Adams.

The sense of place that is central to Adams' art and life is provocative in the same way his music is evocative. The passion for and sense of personal roots for Alaska is incredible. Something that emerges from his voice as essayist and composer. A sense of belonging to a place that I both admire and envy.

His account of how he experienced and came to admire the music of Glenn Branca was especially instructive. The pain and anger of suffering through the harsh extremes of sonic density and volume giving way to a love for Branca's realization of a music rooted in urban environment and experience. The recognition of a kindred soul with a similar sense of place that stands in sharp contrast to the world of snow and stillness of Adams' boreal forest reveals a profoundly open and secure sense of aesthetic substance.

His experiences as an environmental activist and how his compositional and life choices as an artist sensitive to the ways global climate change are affecting his beloved home is compelling. The courage of such convictions is at the heart of these writings and they provoke a similar sense of soul searching. I hope that this will not be the last volume of essays from this artist.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I were a musician, I might rate this one 5 stars. Adams writes compelling of the relationship between silence and sound. He often discusses his
decision to move to Alaska, a place whose natural beauty is a continual inspiration to him. It seems an odd choice for a pulitzer prize winning
composer; you'd think he'd want to live in a more cosmopolitan place with lots of fellow musicians, but, after reading Winter Music, I have
a better understanding of how solitude underpins creativity. Highly recommended

[Jon Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, interesting book about the processes and influences of the composer.