John Luther Adams - Horizon (Richard Tognetti)

Information

Composer: John Luther Adams

• Horizon: I. Visible Horizon
• Horizon: II. True Horizon

Australian Chamber Orchestra

Richard Tognetti, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: ABC Classic

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Australian Chamber Orchestra presents the world premiere recording of Horizon, a major new composition by Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning composer John Luther Adams. Created through an extended collaboration between Adams and the orchestra, the 40-minute work reflects both the composer’s immersive musical language and the ensemble’s commitment to contemporary music. Inspired by Australia’s landscapes, Horizon explores the contrast between the “visible horizon” shaped by natural and human features and the “true horizon” where sky meets earth or sea. Composed during Adams’s travels across Australia, the work was profoundly influenced by the country’s diverse environments and by the artistry of the Australian Chamber Orchestra musicians.

John Luther Adams is an American composer renowned for creating immersive contemporary music inspired by nature, landscape, and environmental awareness. Born in 1953, he became internationally recognized for works that blend orchestral, chamber, percussion, and electronic elements into expansive sonic experiences. His acclaimed composition Become Ocean earned both the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Deeply influenced by the natural environments of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, Adams often explores humanity’s relationship with the earth through sound. His works, including Inuksuit and Horizon, are celebrated for their atmospheric depth, spatial imagination, and ecological vision.

Richard Tognetti (born 1965) is Artistic Director and Lead Violin of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, renowned for his expressive performances and artistic individuality. Trained in Australia and at the Bern Conservatory, he performs on period, modern, and electric violins and has appeared worldwide as soloist and director. Tognetti has expanded the chamber orchestra repertoire through compositions, arrangements, and film scores, including collaborations on Master and Commander, Mountain, and River. He has won six ARIA awards, received three honorary doctorates, was named a National Living Treasure, appointed Officer of the Order of Australia, and in 2017 received the JC Williamson Award for lifetime contribution to live performance.

High Resolution 24-bit / 96 kHz