Hear the Chicago Symphony play “Songs for Adam”

My Songs for Adam, a song cycle on poetry of Susan Stewart, was premiered last fall by baritone Brian Mulligan and the Chicago Symphony with Sir Andrew Davis conducting. Now the cycle is being included on the Chicago Symphony radio broadcast schedule.  Beginning February 12 for 7 days, the concert that included Adam will be broadcast on various radio stations throughout the country. Individual stations set their own times for offering the CSO broadcasts. You can find a list of stations and broadcast times here. Beginning February 15, and continuing for six weeks, the concert will be available for online streaming at the CSO website. You can find an excerpt from the score of Adam at my website. I hope you will have a chance to hear what was a superb performance of the piece.

4 thoughts on “Hear the Chicago Symphony play “Songs for Adam”

  1. I just arrived from a trip home from a school basketball game where i teach. Starting up my van, i was about to pop in Kind of Blue but thought i’d check what the local public radio station had to offer. I was completely unprepared for what i was about to hear - they were broadcasting your world premiere, and i was riveted to the station, leaving my engine running when i arrived home this cold February evening, unwilling to miss what i was hearing.

    What you have done in the context of, shall we say, semi-atonal music is absolutely wondrous; it is at once intense, spiritual, of the highest caliber art - yet accessible. Piercing it was, but a joy to experience. The orchestration, the harmonies and dissonance, your choice of timbres — it was superb.

    Bravo - and thank you.

    1. Thanks so much for your note! It is funny that you were thinking of listening to Kind of Blue, since I hear a chord progression in the last song as indebted to the intro to “So What”!

  2. Hello. I was driving home from choir practice at the cathedral in Atlanta, and heard the last half of “Songs for Adam.” All I can say is WOW! The harmonies were lined up very well with the text. The progression of the melody and orchestration left me wondering what was going to come next. For a French horn enthusiast and previous player, another WOW! Parts of the work have been spinning through my head the last two days. I spent the morning trying to find information on the piece. My first thought was that it would be a great piece to study, or even to prepare for a recital with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus’ group voice class. I do hope you publish a copy soon for aspiring bass/baritones. Thank you so much for your hard work. It is appreciated!

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