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The Financial Times on Adams’ concerto:
“Fists fly as pianist and orchestra trade blows in a rhythmically pugnacious stand-off, which hardly lets up in energy until near the very end.” —Richard Fairman
As Seen in the Vancouver Sun:
“the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has scheduled a real blockbuster program … Conductor David Robertson, as distinguished a guest as we’ve seen in a while, has the honour of introducing John Adams’ new piano concerto Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes, with his Juilliard faculty colleague Orli Shaham as soloist. The VSO has kept up with the works of Adams, though his earlier “minimalist” works are probably best known. The concerto was premiered by Yuja Wang in Los Angeles back in 2019, and a good number of local Adams fans have been waiting for a chance to hear it live. But wait — there’s more to be excited about in this program. Robertson has also programmed the Fourth Symphony (“The Inextinguisahable”) by Danish maverick Carl Nielsen, one of the great orchestral workouts of the early 20th century. Nothing tame about this masterwork, but hang on to your hat. Normally I try to keep my quirky, personal enthusiasms in check, but the Neilsen symphonies are abiding favourites.” —David Gordon Duke
