Adams: Tight, Bright and Different

Although the forces are varied, the interpretive approach to these contemporary landmarks seems unified in consistently bright, tight, high-energy performances of utmost clarity, abetted in no small way by equally direct and pristine recorded sound. The different timbres of the percussion instruments and alternative ideas about balancing the synthesizer and acoustic instruments gives the Edwards-led Chamber Symphony colors entirely unlike those of the composer’s recording. Kretzschmar turns in a hot, dramatic account of “Phrygian Gates,” far removed from the usual cool objectivity applied to the piece, and the solo septet version of “Shaker Loops” glitters with pointed detail and acute rhythmic focus.

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