Upstart Composer Proves Himself With Spectacular ‘Asyla’

A week and a half ago, Ades won the Gravemeyer Award for “Asyla,” and the music world is all in a state. It’s not that this 22-minute symphony isn’t worthy or that it is the composer’s first major orchestral piece. “Asyla” is the freshest of new music, full of inventive sounds and revealing an instantly identifiable personality. No, the controversy is simply that Ades is only 28 years old, and the $200,000 prize is often regarded as a Nobel-like lifetime achievement award. Where can such a young composer--whose opera “Powder Her Face” is already much performed and who will be a composer-in-residence at the Ojai Festival in June--go from here?

Only time will tell, but the music--”Asyla” as well as the shorter chamber and orchestra pieces the CD holds--is simply sensational. It pulls in influences from many directions, as tunes find themselves in fantastical sonic environments of wild percussion, lush and unpredictable harmonies and alluring up-to-date rhythms; each piece is a quirky escapade. “Asyla” (the title is the plural of asylum) was written for Rattle, and the thrilling performance is a live one. Ades conducts the rest and is pianist on the short concerto. He does everything irresistibly well. Get this CD, hear the future, and rejoice.