Editing John Adams (composer) (section)

===1977 to ''Nixon in China''===
[[File:President Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong.jpg|thumb|Adams' first opera, ''[[Nixon in China]]'', is about President Richard Nixon's 1972 [[Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China|visit to China]].]]
In 1977, Adams wrote the half-hour-long solo piano piece ''[[Phrygian Gates]]'', which he later called "my first mature composition, my official 'opus one'",<ref>{{harvnb|Adams|2008|p=88}}</ref> as well as its much shorter companion piece, ''[[China Gates]]''. The next year, he finished ''[[Shaker Loops]]'', a string septet based on an earlier, unsuccessful [[string quartet]] called ''Wavemaker''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2012/sep/04/john-adams-contemporary-music-guide|title=A guide to John Adams's music|last=Service|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Service|date=September 4, 2012|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=October 15, 2019}}</ref> In 1979, he finished his first orchestral work, ''Common Tones in Simple Time'', which the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra premiered with Adams conducting.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Common Tones in Simple Time|url=https://www.earbox.com/common-tones-in-simple-time/|last=Adams|first=John|website=Earbox|date=September 23, 1979|access-date=May 26, 2020}}</ref>

In 1979, Adams became the [[San Francisco Symphony]]'s New Music Adviser and created the symphony's "New and Unusual Music" concerts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=John Adams|url=http://www.sfsymphony.org/|publisher=San Francisco Symphony|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206181144/http://www.sfsymphony.org/|archive-date=February 6, 2008|access-date=May 26, 2020}}</ref> A commission from the symphony resulted in Adams's large, three-movement [[choral symphony]] ''[[Harmonium (Adams)|Harmonium]]'' (1980–81), setting texts by [[John Donne]] and [[Emily Dickinson]]. He followed this with the three-movement orchestral piece (without [[String section|strings]]) ''[[Grand Pianola Music]]'' (1982). That summer, he wrote the score for ''Matter of Heart'', a documentary about psychoanalyst [[Carl Jung]], a score he later derided as "of stunning mediocrity".<ref>{{harvnb|Adams|2008|p=120}}</ref> In the winter of 1982–83, Adams worked on the electronic score for ''Available Light'', a dance choreographed by [[Lucinda Childs]] with sets by architect [[Frank Gehry]]. Without dance, the electronic piece alone is called ''Light Over Water''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mackrell |first=Judith |date=July 7, 2017 |title=Available Light review – Lucinda Childs' minimalist movers weave through John Adams' music |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/22/nixon-in-china-scottish-opera-review-theatre-royal-glasgow-john-adams |access-date=August 31, 2021 }}</ref>

After an 18-month period of [[writer's block]], Adams wrote his orchestral piece ''[[Harmonielehre]]'' (1984–85), which he called "a statement of belief in the power of [[tonality]] at a time when I was uncertain about its future".<ref>{{harvnb|Adams|2008|p=129}}</ref> Like many of Adams's pieces, it was inspired by a dream, in this case, one in which he was driving across the [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] and saw an oil tanker on the surface of the water abruptly turn upright and take off like a [[Saturn V]] rocket.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Harmonielehre|url=https://www.earbox.com/harmonielehre/|last=Adams|first=John|website=John Adams|date=September 23, 1998|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2014/mar/11/symphony-guide-john-adams-harmonielehre-tom-service|title=Symphony guide: John Adams's Harmonielehre|last=Service|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Service|date=March 11, 2014|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=October 15, 2019}}</ref>

From 1985 to 1987, Adams composed his first [[opera]], ''[[Nixon in China]]'', with a [[libretto]] by [[Alice Goodman]], based on [[Richard Nixon]]'s 1972 [[Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China|visit to China]]. The opera marked the first collaboration between Adams and [[theatre director]] [[Peter Sellars]], who had proposed it to Adams in 1983.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 24, 2013|title=Adams ''Nixon in China''|url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/adams-nixon-in-china-0|access-date=October 15, 2019|work=[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]}}</ref> Adams worked with Sellars on all his operas until [[Antony_and_Cleopatra_(2022_opera)|''Antony and Cleopatra'']] (2022).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Swed |first=Mark |date=2022-09-16 |title=Review: In John Adams' new ''Antony and Cleopatra'' opera, the orchestra is the star |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-09-16/review-john-adams-antony-and-cleopatra-sf-opera |access-date=2022-11-20 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

During this time, Adams also wrote ''[[The Chairman Dances]]'' (1985), which he described as an "'out-take' of Act III of ''Nixon in China''", to fulfill a long-delayed commission for the [[Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra|Milwaukee Symphony]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Chairman Dances|url=https://www.earbox.com/the-chairman-dances/|last=Adams|first=John|website=John Adams|date=September 23, 2003|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> He also wrote the short orchestral [[fanfare]] ''[[Short Ride in a Fast Machine]]'' (1986).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2012/03/27/149467564/thrilling-rides-in-dazzling-machines-the-san-francisco-symphony-plays-adams|title=The Best Classical Album of 2012?|last=Tsioulcas|first=Anastasia|date=March 27, 2012|publisher=NPR|access-date=October 15, 2019|archive-date=October 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015185246/https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2012/03/27/149467564/thrilling-rides-in-dazzling-machines-the-san-francisco-symphony-plays-adams|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:PeterSellarsOjai.jpg|thumb|upright|Adams has collaborated with theater director [[Peter Sellars]] on all of his operas.|alt=|left]]