American Gothic

... or perhaps more accurately "American Minimalist," or even just "Minimalist," but that didn't sound as good.

I accompanied the boyfriend to the Royal Albert Hall last week to see the American composer John Adams conduct three pieces of his own work, all as part of the current BBC Proms season. We go to the Proms quite a bit. The boyfriend sometimes even "proms" properly, standing with the die-hard prommers down by the stage, but I (being more accustomed to luxury and citing low blood pressure) prefer to sit. John Adams always gives excellent Proms value as he talks about his work in pre-prom interviews before taking the conductor's stand and really going for it. He's an energetic performer who knows how to get the best out of orchestras, especially when they're playing his music, and it's an amazing sight to see.

At an Adams prom the best place to sit is in the choir stalls, right behind the percussion. You get a really good view of him conducting, but you also get the full benefit of the bizarre percussive combinations that underpin his music. Bells, bowls, drums, gongs and the use of a bow to play a vibraphone - it all goes on right under your nose. The music itself, for me, is something that I feel I can really inhabit. Whether it's because I remember all of the composer's descriptions of what the music represents from his pre-prom interviews or because I genuinely connect with it on some deeper level, I'm really not sure, but there's something there that appeals to me. In "My Father Knew Charles Ives" the soundscapes of lakes, mountains and marching bands in small American towns are vivid. In "The Wound Dresser" you can feel the essence of what Walt Whitman was trying to say as he described his experiences as a wartime nurse - the small moments of calm determination to do the right thing amidst the pain and the tragedy that a life spent caring for others comprises. The final piece "Harmonielehre" was tremendously loud and exciting, building to a huge conclusion. It was extremely popular with the audience. John Adams took many curtain calls and grateful bows, but he is definitely entitled to milk the audience's appreciation on account of his being extremely talented.

We're off to the Proms again this Sunday, to see Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth of the Mstensk District". This is a bit of a gamble for us, as neither of us knows what it's like, but it's good to challenge yourself culturally from time to time, surely? With two hours of opera sung in Russian. Oh well, if it's no good at least they serve decent ice creams at the interval.