Timothy A. Johnson Discusses His Book on John Adams's Nixon in China

Learn more about Timothy A. Johnson at: http://faculty.ithaca.edu/tjohnson/
Learn more about Johnson's book, John Adams's Nixon in China, at http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409426820

About the interview:
Timothy A. Johnson and Rebecca Jemian, professors in the School of Music at Ithaca College, discuss Johnson's new book, John Adams's Nixon in China: Musical Analysis, Historical and Political Perspectives. (Ashgate 2011). They discuss the audience for the book, Dr. Johnson's background in studying the music of Adams, and the general outline of the book. Dr. Johnson explains the approaches to musical analysis that he takes in the book based on neo-Riemannian theory and Harald Krebs' theory of metrical consonance and dissonance. They also discuss the historical and political contexts of his analysis, his favorite passage in the opera (Nixon's "News" aria), as well as his other books on interdisciplinary studies in music.

About the book:
John Adams's opera, Nixon in China, is one of the most frequently performed operas in the contemporary literature. Timothy A. Johnson illuminates the opera and enhances listeners' and scholars' appreciation for this landmark work. This music-analytical guide presents a detailed, in-depth analysis of the music tied to historical and political contexts. The music analysis takes a neo-Riemannian approach to harmony and to large-scale harmonic connections. Musical metaphors drawn between harmonies and their dramatic contexts enrich this approach. Motivic analysis reveals interweaving associations between the characters, based on melodic content. Analysis of rhythm and meter focuses on Adams's frequent use of grouping and displacement dissonances to propel the music forward or to illustrate the libretto.

The book shows how the historical depiction in the opera is accurate, yet enriched by this operatic adaptation. The language of the opera is true to its source, but more evocative than the words spoken in 1972-due to Alice Goodman's marvelous, poetic libretto. And the music transcends its repetitive shell to become a hierarchically-rich and musically-compelling achievement.

Other books by Timothy A. Johnson:
Foundations of Diatonic Theory: A Mathematically Based Approach to Music Fundamentals (Scarecrow 2008)
Baseball and the Music of Charles Ives: A Proving Ground (Scarecrow 2004)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Chou En-lai
• Mao Tse-tung (Zedong)
• Chiang Ch'ing (Jiang Qing)
• Henry Kissinger
• Alice Goodman
• Peter Sellars
• neo-Riemannian analysis
• hexatonic systems
• opera
• minimalism
• minimalist music