At ASO, Leila Josefowicz is dazzling in John Adams’ ‘Scheherazade.2’

On Thursday, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra presented "Scheherazade.2," a "concerto that is also a symphony" by the prolific, ever-resourceful John Adams. No composer of his stature has a more significant relationship with the ASO, and on this occasion he took to the podium, conducting the evening's program.

"Scheherazade.2," first heard in March at the New York Philharmonic, was written specifically for Leila Josefowicz, a violinist of formidable talent who has virtually dedicated her career to the performance of new works.

Adams is an experimental guy and his sound has evolved quite a bit from his signature minimalist works such as “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” or “Nixon in China.” In a talk before the performance, he described “Scheherazade.2” as a “modern Scheherazade,” and at times it could even be called modernist. A rich tapestry of dense colors and imaginative combinations with a vibrant, highly virtuosic role for the soloist, this is a fresh and exciting work.

As usual with Adams, there is a strong narrative to this piece. Visiting a museum exhibition, the composer was disturbed by the treatment of women in stories like “Scheherazade” and in society. “Scheherazade.2” is an antidote of sorts, featuring the soloist as a heroine who is pursued by male “true believers,” triumphs over persecution, and still finds time to work in a love interest (“who might be a woman”). It is an unapologetic feminist work that even managed to pump up a controversy after the premiere, where Adams, in his remarks, had taken a slight crack at radio host Rush Limbaugh, setting off an army of “ditto-heads.”

That aside, this was an example of the power of a soloist to take a work to an entirely new level, as Josefowicz became Scheherazade, embodying the heroine even with her posture, and ripping into the fiendishly difficult score, performed from memory.

The orchestra responded beautifully to Adams, in a performance that could have been recorded in one take. Laura Ardan’s clarinet solos were flawlessly rendered, and there was fine solo work from Brice Andrus, ASO’s elegant principal horn. The Hungarian cimbalom was given a major supporting role (and center stage), played here by guest Charles Englander. Adams has become a master of textures, never more so than in this work, vividly enhanced by percussion.

The concert opened with “The Enchanted Lake,” a short, sweet tone poem by Anatoly Liadov, a student of Rimsky-Korsakov which, as Adams put it, is “like a little water color.” This was followed by Respighi’s “Pines of Rome,” a work that, like “Scheherazade.2,” has a strong theater element. It now sounds a bit dated, more like the soundtrack for the Hollywood blockbusters that came a few decades after its 1924 premiere and which, since it was once hugely popular, were undoubtedly informed by it.

Still, it’s likely that “Pines of Rome” seemed as exotic and strange in its day as “Scheherazade.2” does to us. As recently as 1972, it was denounced in the Chinese press as representing the “nasty rotten life and decadent sentiments” of “bourgeois works of music,” after a performance by the visiting Philadelphia Orchestra. Now, regarding the New York performance of “Scheherazade.2,” we get this from a ditto-head: “the lengthy hate clap was reminiscent of the ‘Two Minute Hate’ from Orwell’s ‘1984.’”