Hallelujah Junction
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''Hallelujah Junction'' is a composition for two
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
s written in 1996 by the American composer
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...
. Adams titled his autobiography after this composition. A two-CD retrospective album of works by Adams on the Nonesuch label is also entitled ''Hallelujah Junction'', but does not include the composition.


Composition

The name comes from a small truck stop on
US 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...
which meets Alternate US 40, (now State Route 70) near the California–Nevada border. Adams said of the piece, "Here we have a case of a great title looking for a piece. So now the piece finally exists: the 'junction' being the interlocking style of two-piano writing which features short, highly rhythmicized motives bouncing back and forth between the two pianos in tightly phased sequences". The work centers around delayed repetition between the two pianos, creating an effect of echoing sonorities. There is a constant shift of
pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the n ...
and
meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
, but the main rhythms are based on the rhythms of the word "Hal–le–LU–jah". The work is in three unnamed
movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
, and generally takes about 16 minutes to perform. It was first performed by
Grant Gershon Grant Gershon (born November 10, 1960) is a Grammy Award winning American conductor and pianist. He is Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Resident Conductor of the Los Angeles Opera, member of the Board of Councillors for the USC ...
and
Gloria Cheng Gloria Cheng is an American pianist who won a Grammy Award for her 2008 Piano Music of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Steven Stucky, and Witold Lutosławski, and a nomination for The Edge of Light: Messiaen/Saariaho. Her film, "Montage: Great Film Composers an ...
at the Getty Center in Brentwood, California, in 1998. It is dedicated to
Ernest Fleischmann Ernest Martin Fleischmann (December 7, 1924 – June 13, 2010) was a German-born American impresario who served for 30 years as executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which he upgraded to become a top-ranked orchestra. A talented mu ...
, long-time general manager of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 2002 the composition was used for a ballet with choreography by
Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...
.


Recordings

*2003: ''Stravinsky: Concerto for 2 pianos; Adams: Hallelujah Junction; Boulez: Structures, Book 2'' with Gerard Bouwhuis and Cees van Zeeland, Turtle Records *2005: ''John Adams: Road Movies'' with Nicolas Hodges and Rolf Hind,
Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...
*2005: ''John Adams: Road Movies; Hallelujah Junction; Phrygian Gates; China Gates'' with
Andrew Russo Andrew C. Russo (born October 22, 1975) is an American pianist. Russo was born in Syracuse, New York, and studied music in New York City and Europe. He started a nonprofit youth educational foundation in New York at the age of 25 and recorded albu ...
and
James Ehnes James Ehnes, (born January 27, 1976) is a Canadian concert violinist and violist. Life and career Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey Ehnes, fo ...
, Black Box Classics *2007: ''John Adams: Complete Piano Music'' with Ralph van Raat and , Naxos Records *2007: ''Junctions'' with Roberto Hidalgo and Marc Peloquin, Urtext Records (Mexico) *2016: ''Visions'' with Christina Naughton and Michelle Naughton,
Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, ...
2564601136 *2017: ''Adams: Piano Music'' with Jeroen van Veen and Sandra van Veen,
Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also ...
95388


In popular culture

The 2017 film '' Call Me by Your Name'' opens with an excerpt of the first movement. An excerpt of the first movement was used in the pilot episode of FX's drama Pose.


References

{{Authority control Compositions by John Adams (composer) Compositions for two pianos 1998 compositions Music with dedications