January 2, 1990

Composer John Adams.

Composer John Adams. Although he comes out of the classical tradition, Adams is not afraid to use drum machines, synthesizers and silent-movie chord progressions in his music. His latest work, "The Wound Dresser", is a setting of a poem by Walt Whitman about the experience of tending wounded soldiers during the Civil War. For Adams, the work has connections to both the AIDS crisis and his father's recent battle with Alzheimer's disease. Adams also talks about his best-known work, the opera "Nixon in China". He says he likes to write music about events that the whole world is watching.

22:20

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Guest

John Adams

Host

Terry Gross

Other segments from the episode on January 2, 1990

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, January 2, 1990: Interview with John Adams; Commentary on rap music; Interview with Stefan Kanfer; Review of the novel "Goodnight!".

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January 2, 1990

06:53

Music at the Turn of the Last Decade, Part 2.

Rock historian Ed Ward takes us back to 1980 for the birth of rap music.

Commentary

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January 2, 1990

11:23

The History of the Catskills' Resorts.

Writer Stefan Kanfer. Kanfer's latest book is called "A Summer World: The Attempt to Build a Jewish Eden in the Catskills, from the Days of the Ghetto to the Rise and Decline of the Borscht Belt." The Borsht Belt nurtured a generation of comics and defined a culture. Kanfer talks about the lives of the people who frequented the Catskill resorts, and the reason those resorts are now in decline.

Interview

Stefan Kanfer

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January 2, 1990

03:47

A Fictionalized Memoir.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Goodnight!," by Soviet novelist Andrei Sinyavsky (AHN-dray Sin-YAV-skee). Sinyavsky was the first writer in the Soviet union to be convicted for the opinions voiced by his imaginary characters, and the book straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction as it tells the story of Sinyavsky and his alter ego/pseudonym, Abram Tertz.

Review

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Composer John Adams.

Guest

Host

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Other segments from the episode on January 2, 1990

Music at the Turn of the Last Decade, Part 2.

The History of the Catskills' Resorts.

A Fictionalized Memoir.

Transcript

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Composer and Conductor John Adams.