Marin Alsop’s discography already comprises more than 200 titles, and on April 5 she expands this catalog with the physical and digital release of her newest addition to Naxos’s “American Classics” series. This is Alsop’s third Naxos title devoted to the music of John Adams, following recordings of Shaker Loops, The Wound-Dresser, and Short Ride in a Fast Machine, named an “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone, and of his opera Nixon in China, which confirmed Alsop’s standing as “a proven master of Adams’ style both early and late” (San Francisco Chronicle). Recorded with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, of which she is now in her fifth season as Chief Conductor, the album combines her readings of Adams’s City Noir and Fearful Symmetries with her premiere recording of Lola Montez Does the Spider Dance, a work dedicated to the conductor herself. 

A dear friend of Alsop’s for many decades, Adams believes that no one else understands the American contemporary music scene as well as she does. This high regard is mutual; as a profound admirer of the composer’s music, Alsop once told Gramophone:

 “I do admire him for being the kind of artist who has a viewpoint. … Every piece that John writes has a pay-off, and by that I mean there’s an emotional arrival point. And he’s so skillful in combining all these elements so you have this minimalist propulsive drive, but then you also have the architectural structure to go with it, and I think that’s what enhances the appeal for both audiences and critics alike.”

Full album available April 5 on Naxos.