Cartoon Capers and Liminal Loops – John Adams at 80

An evening of thrilling music by John Adams, one of the world’s most popular composers, and Donnacha Dennehy, a composer Adams has championed and winner of a 2026 Grammy award.

The two John Adams' works in this programme are both exhilarating, but in completely different ways. Shaker Loops combines weightless minimalism and trembling euphoria while the Chamber Symphony delivers an enthralling mash-up of the most unlikely influences: Arnold Schoenberg's avant garde 1906 work of the same name and the 'hyperactive, insistently aggressive and acrobatic scores' of classic American Cartoon music.

Donnacha Dennehy’s concerto shares many of John Adams’ influences, with looping and subtly interwoven rhythmic blocks, but its brilliance also lies in its focus on transitions and hypnotic in-between states.

“an electric performance of John Adams’ Shaker Loops... Britten Sinfonia really seemed to revel in the intricacies and athletic challenges. The result was aptly a picture of joy, youth and energy.” - Bachtrack

Programme

John Adams Shaker Loops
John Adams Chamber Symphony
Donnacha Dennehy Limina: Piano Concerto (UK premiere)

Performers

Eliza McCarthy Piano
Britten Sinfonia