Doctor Atomic Symphony

(2007)

I. The Laboratory
II. Panic
III. Trinity

Doctor Atomic Symphony is a purely instrumental work drawn from the 2005 opera. It includes music from the opera’s overture, the Act II “panic” music, the “military matters” sections from Act I, and it culminates with an orchestral setting of Oppenheimer’s signature “Batter My Heart” aria that closes Act I of the opera. The score is dedicated to David Robertson, who gave the first American performances in Saint Louis and at Carnegie Hall in the spring of 2008.

Doctor Atomic Main Page includes a synopsis interviews and additional commentary

Orchestra

Picc, 2 fl (2=picc), 3 ob (3=Eng hrn), 2 cl, bass cl (=clar 3), 2 bsn, contrabsn (=bsn 3), 4 hr, 3 tpt, 3 tmb, tuba, timp, 4 perc, harp, celesta, and strings

Duration: 24 minutes

First performance: August 21, 2007, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, conductor. North American premiere: February 7, 2008, Saint Louis Symphony, David Robertson, conductor

Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes