Podcasts Education Self-Improvement Conversations with Tyler John Adams on Composing and Creative Freedom

John Adams on Composing and Creative Freedom

Published: Dec. 14, 2022, 1 p.m.

Is classical music dying? For John Adams the answer is an emphatic no. Considered by Tyler to be America\u2019s greatest living composer, he may well be one of the people responsible for keeping it alive. John\u2019s contemporary classical music is some of the most regularly performed and he is well-known for his historically themed operas such as Nixon in China, Doctor Atomic, and most recently Antony and Cleopatra. He is also a conductor and author of, in Tyler\u2019s words, a \u201cthoughtful and substantive\u201d autobiography.

He joined Tyler to discuss why architects have it easier than opera composers, what drew him to the story of Antony and Cleopatra, why he prefers great popular music to the classical tradition, the \u201cmemory spaces\u201d he uses to compose, the role of Christianity in his work, the anxiety of influence, the unusual life of Charles Ives, the relationship between the availability and appreciation of music, how contemporary music got a bad rap, his favorite Bob Dylan album, why he doesn\u2019t think San Francisco was crucial to his success, why he doesn\u2019t believe classical music is dead or even dying, his fascination with Oppenheimer, the problem with film composing, his letter to Leonard Bernstein, what he\u2019s doing next, and more.

Read a\xa0full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded September 14th, 2022

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