 | | |
| Terry Riley: Requiem for Adam / The Philosopher's Hand | 
 enlarge | Artists: Terry Riley, Kronos Quartet
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $11.87
You Save: $5.11 (30%)
Buy New/Used from $3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (4 reviews)
Sales Rank: 124856
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 4.8 x 0.5
MPN: 79639
UPC: 075597963922
EAN: 0075597963922
ASIN: B00005NSQV
Release Date: September 4, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Tracks:
| • | Requiem For Adam: Ascending The Heaven Ladder | | • | Requiem For Adam: Cortejo Funebre en el Monte Diablo | | • | Requiem For Adam: Requiem For Adam | | • | The Philosopher's Hand |
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The Kronos Quartet turns in a spectacular performance of three unusually dissimilar Terry Riley compositions grouped under the title Requiem for Adam. Ostensibly the three parts of Requiem are based on the memory of Adam Harrington, the son of Kronos's David Harrington, but none of these works is particularly funereal. The perky, Bartok-influenced "Ascending the Heaven Ladder" gives way (unaccountably) to the harsh electronics of the composer-assisted second movement, "Cortejo Funebre en el Monte Diablo," which in turn leads to the energetic third movement, "Requiem for Adam." This music might have a hard time finding a new audience, but Riley fans--as well as Kronos enthusiasts--will revel in the music and the warm studio ambience. However, the final work here, a five-minute improvisational knockoff called "The Philosopher's Hand," finds Riley on the piano in a deeply meditative mood that could have gone for another hour. It promises much for the future of solo piano music from this gifted composer. --Paul Cook
|
| Customer Reviews:
 joining hands April 6, 2008
the first movement, ascending the heaven ladder, opens with a gentle beginning and continues with measured progressions, an arrangement suitable for reflection and memory--a composition marked by the hand of a pianist, listening i had the impression that the first movement would work just as well transcribed for piano. the second movement, cortejo en el monte diablo, is a mixed bag of musical forms, with playback samples created by riley on an ensoniq ts-12. there are few surprises in the third movement, requiem for adam, just good music.
the companion piece, the philosopher's hand, a composition for piano, played by riley, is riley's memory of pandit pran nath taking david harrington's hand at the memorial service for harrington's son, adam, and remarking that pandit pran nath's hand was the softest hand he had ever felt. the philosopher's hand reminds me of the solo piano of chick corea, his now he sobs, now he cries.
Requiem without despair October 4, 2002
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Written to mark the premature death of Adam Harrington, teenage son of Kronos violinist David Harrington, "Requiem" is an unusual piece for a work bearing that title. Cut from the same cloth as Riley's previous (and underrated) string quartets, for the most part it would sound at home on "Cadenza at the Night Plain" or "Salome Dances for Peace." It starts with a very energetic movement, somewhere between a scherzo and a loose fugue based on a few simple patterns. But the middle movement comes as a surprise, a sudden burst of electronic instruments announcing a quasi-industrial section rich in complexity. (It actually sounds reminiscent of King Crimson's "ProjeKct" pieces.) The third and final movement returns to the unassisted quartet. Subtitled "Requiem for Adam," its long, sliding notes and anxious motion suddenly give way to a stately, processional interlude suffused with a tender sadness and a gnawing uncertainty. The piece ends with a return to the dance-like energy, closing on a final coda expressed as the two syllables in Adam's name. Perhaps less a traditional requiem than a musical portrait, it's nevertheless a thoroughly fascinating and occasionally moving work. It's followed by "The Philosopher's Hand," a gentle piano solo improvised by Riley in the memory of his mentor, Pandit Pran Nath.
 string quartets not Riley's forte September 19, 2001
18 out of 27 found this review helpful
I would truly like to be positive toward this record, particularly given its subject matter. (When I ordered it, based on the title, I assumed it was about the Adam of the Bible, perhaps symbolic of humanity...) I love Riley's "In C" and "A Rainbow in Curved Air," and the works of the Kronos Quartet. But this work doesn't move me. Actually, the last piece, a solo piano improvisation by Riley dedicated to Riley's teacher Pandit Pran Nath, who passed away in 1996, is much more affecting than the string quartet, which I think says something. The first movement of the quartet ("Ascending the Heaven Ladder") is strong, but the electronic effects in the second movement seem out of place, and the long third movement just seems to lose momentum. Come to think of it, Riley seems to share with the other "minimalists" a tendency to become less compelling in moving away from the purity of the initial vision/impulse. The artwork on this CD is stunning, though, a series of photos of dead leaves called "Black Pulse."
A uniquely moving memorial September 14, 2001
32 out of 33 found this review helpful
Terry Riley has my vote for the title of great American composer. Few composers working today have Riley's ability to range from unbridled fun to profound emotional depth. His long collaboration with the Kronos Quartet brings us this latest work, certainly one of Terry's deepest and most moving. Composed as a memorial after the death of 16-year-old Adam Harrington (son of the Kronos' first violinist), who shared a birthday with Terry's own son, the result is music of great emotional and psychological richness. In the middle movement, electronic sounds, suggestive of pop music, joins the quartet - a homage to the energy and tastes of the young man it memorializes. In the last movement, sliding tones suggest (to my ear) ambulance sirens, even as the work reaches a sense of reassurance in the midst of suffering. In total, it is a work of great tonal beauty and an immeasurable humanity. I bought this CD the day before the World Trade Center was hit, and it has been the one piece of music I've found consoling in the days since that event. It is a mark of Terry's own beauty of spirit that his music speaks to us on such a level. Listen to this work.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |