Minimal Music Festival 2026 - Ralph van Raat & Emanuele Arciuli - John Luther Adams

John Luther Adams is a composer who knows how to capture the immensity of nature in sound. He does this through impressive orchestral works, but also with smaller ensembles. This afternoon, specialists Ralph van Raat and Emanuele Arciuli play John Luther Adams’ complete works for solo piano, including the world premiere of Four Thousand Holes in a version for two pianos. Vast, majestic, overwhelming: the maestro’s touch is unmistakable.

John Luther Adams (no relation to the post-minimalist John Adams) lived in Alaska for many years. He immortalized the northern ocean in his Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning orchestral work, Become Ocean. He now lives part-time in a Mexican desert, a change that inspired Become Desert. The titles of his piano compositions speak for themselves: rugged, inhospitable nature is always the source of inspiration.

Arrangör: Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ