John Adams’s The Rock You Stand On Premieres in Philadelphia
John Adams’s new orchestral work celebrates longtime collaboration with Marin Alsop, premiering in Philadelphia followed by global tour to Poland, Manchester, New York, Vienna, and Chicago.
John Adams’s The Rock You Stand On receives its world premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Marin Alsop—the work’s dedicatee—on October 3-5. The premiere kicks off a series of performances with major orchestras and venues across Europe and North America throughout the 2025–26 season.
Co-commissioned by a distinguished consortium of institutions—The Philadelphia Orchestra, Bravo! Vail, Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Hallé, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonie de Paris, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Konzerthaus and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra—The Rock You Stand On is a powerful tribute to friendship, resilience, and musical collaboration.
“She is one of the very few conductors whom I can trust to do the right thing with what I’ve written,” says Adams of Alsop. “She knows what I want. She ‘gets it.’”
Approximately 10 minutes in length, the work unfolds in a single continuous movement. Adams describes it as having “a certain ‘big band’ quality,” with pulsating rhythms and irregular, bouncing figures passed throughout the orchestra and propelled by an underlying jazz-inflected pulse.
“The title is non-specific,” Adams notes, “but perhaps hints at the qualities—loyalty, determination, devotion—that make Marin so very special to me.”
The Rock You Stand On Tour Dates
Oct 3-5 (World premiere) – The Philadelphia Orchestra / Marin Alsop
Oct 10 (European premiere) – Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop
Nov 1 (UK premiere) – Hallé Orchestra / John Adams (Part of John Adams Festival)
Mar 31 (New York premiere) – The Philadelphia Orchestra / Marin Alsop (Carnegie Hall)
Apr 1 – Houston Symphony / John Adams
Apr 30 (Austrian premiere) – Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien / Marin Alsop
Jun 4-6 – Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop
Adams also conducts The Rock You Stand On in Manchester on November 1, capping off a three-day John Adams Festival presented by The Hallé, which features works including Slonimsky’s Earbox, Harmonium, and Scheherazade.2 with violinist Leila Josefowicz.
Other highlights this fall include the US premiere of Adams’s recent orchestral work Frenzy (Oct 2-5), performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel during Dudamel’s final season as Artistic Director of the orchestra. The LA Phil also performs the work on its East Asia tour to South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.
> Further information on Work: The Rock You Stand On
Photo: Deborah O'Grady