After the Fall

KQED
“a remarkable composition”

“a thrill ride”

“After the Fall is laden with imagery — fields, flight, turbulence, pursuit, heartbeat.”

“… then came an interpolation of Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” recontextualized in Adams’ landscape, like a skilled DJ blend that makes you ask, “Why hasn’t it been this way all along?”

San Francisco Chronicle
"consciously makes connections across the centuries between Adams and Bach"

"dreamy"

"Against hushed, sustained strings, the piano rises in counterpoint with a celesta and a pair of harps, recalling the beautiful transparency of Maurice Ravel’s orchestration and the moodiness of Béla Bartók’s night music. The sparse texture of the repeated rhythmic figurations does invoke Bach — though only Adams could have written the explosive, more densely orchestrated balance of the first movement."

"_After the Fall) is a terrific addition to the composer’s catalog, a piece that will likely be performed and pondered for decades."