''Hallelujah Junction'' is a composition for two
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
s written in 1996 by the American composer
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
. Adams titled his autobiography after this composition. A two-CD retrospective album of works by Adams on the
Nonesuch label is also entitled
''Hallelujah Junction'', but does not include the composition.
Composition
The name comes from
a small truck stop on
US 395
U.S. Route 395 (US 395), also known as U.S. Highway 395, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that traverses the inland areas of the western states of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. It travels for over from a junctio ...
which meets Alternate US 40, (now
State Route 70) near the California–Nevada border.
[ Adams said of the piece, "Here we have a case of a great title looking for a piece. So now the piece finally exists: the 'junction' being the interlocking style of two-piano writing which features short, highly rhythmicized motives bouncing back and forth between the two pianos in tightly phased sequences".]pulse
In medicine, the pulse refers to the rhythmic pulsations (expansion and contraction) of an artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The pulse may be felt ( palpated) in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surfac ...
and meter
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
, but the main rhythms are based on the rhythms of the word "Hal–le–LU–jah".
The work is in three unnamed movements
Movement may refer to:
Generic uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
* Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...
, and generally takes about 16 minutes to perform. It was first performed by Grant Gershon
Grant Gershon (born November 10, 1960) is a Grammy Award winning American conductor and pianist. He is Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, formerly Resident Conductor of the Los Angeles Opera, member of the Board of Councillors fo ...
and Gloria Cheng at the Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, United States, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997, and is well known for its architecture, garde ...
in Brentwood, California, in 1998. It is dedicated to Ernest Fleischmann Ernest Martin Fleischmann (December 7, 1924 – June 13, 2010) was a German-born American impresario who served for 30 years as executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which he upgraded to become a top-ranked orchestra. A talented ...
,Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
.
In 2002 the composition was used for a ballet with choreography by Peter Martins
Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish former ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and J ...
.
Recordings
*2003: ''Stravinsky: Concerto for 2 pianos; Adams: Hallelujah Junction; Boulez: Structures, Book 2'' with Gerard Bouwhuis and Cees van Zeeland, Turtle Records
*2005: ''John Adams: Road Movies'' with Nicolas Hodges
Nicolas Hodges (born 1970, in London) is a pianist living in Germany.
Early years
Nicolas Hodges was born into a musical family. His mother sang in the BBC Singers, including under Boulez in works by Nono. His father was a keen amateur musician, ...
and Rolf Hind
Rolf Hind (born 1964 in London) is a British pianist and composer. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Biography
Rolf Hind was born in London to a German mother and an English fa ...
, Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...
*2005: ''John Adams: Road Movies; Hallelujah Junction; Phrygian Gates; China Gates'' with Andrew Russo and James Ehnes
James Ehnes (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian- American concert violinist and violist.
Early life
Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey E ...
, Black Box Classics
*2007: ''John Adams: Complete Piano Music'' with Ralph van Raat
Ralph van Raat (born 1978) is a Dutch classical pianist.
Biography and career
Pianist and musicologist Ralph van Raat appears as a recitalist in Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States. Augmenting traditional repertoire, he takes special ...
and , Naxos Records
Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...
*2007: ''Junctions'' with Roberto Hidalgo and Marc Peloquin, Urtext Records (Mexico)
*2016: ''Visions'' with Christina Naughton and Michelle Naughton, Warner Classics
Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records and Teldec Records labels. Based in France, Warner Cla ...
2564601136
*2017: ''Adams: Piano Music'' with Jeroen van Veen and Sandra van Veen, Brilliant Classics
Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...
95388
In popular culture
The 2017 film '' Call Me by Your Name'' opens with an excerpt of the first movement.
An excerpt of the first movement was used in the pilot episode of FX's drama ''Pose
Human positions refer to the different physical configurations that the human body can take.
There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning.
*''Position'' is a gen ...
''.
References
{{Authority control
Compositions by John Adams (composer)
Compositions for two pianos
1998 compositions
Music with dedications