The wonderful solitude of Samuel Adams

Karina Canellakis combines a birthday present for Ditta Bartók with a revolutionary symphony and a new work by a son who has passed the shadow of his father.

Symbol
After Ludwig van Beethoven decided to dedicate his Third Symphony to Napoleon, news came that the ruler had been crowned emperor. 'Another tyrant, an ordinary mortal,' Beethoven ignited in anger, and he renamed his symphony 'Eroica,' making the work a symbol of the ideals of the French Revolution overturned by Napoleon. Béla Bartók performed his Third Piano Concerto, his last work before his death, with more love; it was to ensure that his wife had a source of income after his demise.

Desert colors
Samuel Adams' Variations also has a history. He was to write the work as composer in residence of The Concertgebouw in 2020. During the pandemic, he ended up in the Nevada desert. There the son of composer John Adams marveled at the infinite variety of colors and wrote his Variations constructed according to the series of Fibonacci. Tranquil atmospheres and vast orchestral fans evoke the atmosphere of Adams' wonderful solitude.