Adams: Doctor Atomic Symphony; Guide to Strange Places

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams' Dr. Atomic Symphony, performed here by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under the direction of David Robertson, is a thrilling distillation of musical themes from Adams' 2005 opera Dr. Atomic. This 2007 work is a 25-minute white-knuckle ride that manages to convey all the drama, dread, tension and uncertainty that distinguished Adam's impressionistic examination of the life of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. It's a tale blending history, politics, science and ethics, centered around 'an anti-hero, laced with deep moral dilemmas,' as Atomic Symphony liner-notes writer Jeremy Denk puts It. It is a real-life saga in which the fate of humanity truly hangs in the balance. And it still does: as the New York Times noted, Dr. Atomic remains 'all too timely.'