John Adams: Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? (Live)
Album • Apr 17 / 2020 • 4 songs, 31m
John Adams wrote his third piano concerto for Yuja Wang, who gave its premiere in Los Angeles—recorded here—in March 2019. It takes its name from a phrase in a *New Yorker* article that piqued Adams’ curiosity: “The phrase suggested a ‘Totentanz’,” he wrote in the program notes, “only not of the Lisztian manner, but more of funk-invested American-style.” And that’s precisely what he responded to: a rhythmically driven, harmonically complex three-section piece that plays to Wang’s astounding technique and personality, and the LA Phil’s corporate virtuosity. It’s destined to become a modern classic. The solo “China Gates” is a perfect little encore