“An adaptation of several extended sections [of the Doctor Atomic opera]," wrote the New York Times, "the score invites you to hear the music—driving passages with pounding timpani, quizzically restrained lyrical flights, bursts of skittish fanfares—on its own terms, apart from its dramatic context."

Nonesuch released Pulitzer Prize–winning composer John Adams’s Doctor Atomic Symphony on July 28, 2009. A purely instrumental work, the piece is drawn from Adams’s opera Doctor Atomic. Also on the album is Adams’ 2001 piece, Guide to Strange Places. This is the premiere recording of both works. David Robertson conducts the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra on this recording, which is his first CD with the ensemble.

MUSICIANS
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
David Robertson, Music Director