Thomas Adès: Dante Los Angeles Philharmonic & Gustavo Dudamel

• Thomas Adès (b. 1971): Dante, Pt. I "Inferno":
• 1 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": I. Abandon Hope— 00:56
• 2 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": II. The Selfish—stung by wasps 01:57
• 3 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": III. The Ferryman 04:18
• 4 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": IV. Pavan of the Souls in Limbo— 02:04
• 5 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": V. Paolo and Francesca—the endless whirlwind 02:57
• 6 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": VI. The Gluttons—in slime 05:15
• 7 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": VII. The Suicides—the bleeding trees— 05:30
• 8 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": VIII. The Deviants—on burning sand— 03:53
• 9 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": IX. The Fortune-tellers—facing both ways 03:38
• 10 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": X. The Popes’ Adagio—heads first— 01:45
• 11 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": XI. The Hypocrites—in coats of lead 05:24
• 12 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": XII. The Thieves—devoured by reptiles 03:03
• 13 Adès: Dante, Pt. I "Inferno": XIII. Satan—in the lake of ice 02:27
• Dante, Pt. II "Purgatorio":
• 14 Adès: Dante, Pt. II "Purgatorio": I. Dawn on the Sea of Purgatory— 04:37
• 15 Adès: Dante, Pt. II "Purgatorio": II. Mount Purgatory— 02:30
• 16 Adès: Dante, Pt. II "Purgatorio": III. The Valley of Flowers— 03:32
• 17 Adès: Dante, Pt. II "Purgatorio": IV. The Healing Fire— 02:47
• 18 Adès: Dante, Pt. II "Purgatorio": V. The Earthly Paradise— 02:39
• 19 Adès: Dante, Pt. II "Purgatorio": VI. The Heavenly Procession— 03:17
• 20 Adès: Dante, Pt. II "Purgatorio": VII. The Ascent 02:38
• Dante, Pt. III "Paradiso":
• 21 Adès: Dante, Pt. III "Paradiso": Awakening—Moon—Mercury—Venus—Sun—Mars—Jupiter (The Eagle)—Saturn (The Golden Ladder)—Fixed Stars—Empyrean 26:34
• Total Runtime 01:31:41

Info for Thomas Adès: Dante

Thomas Adès’ Dante—a ballet score in three parts based on Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia—was recorded by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel at a concert performance last spring at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Nonesuch Records releases the album, the work’s premiere audio recording, on April 21, 2023. Dante was first performed at the Royal Opera House as part of Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project for the Royal Ballet, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and with designs by visual artist Tacita Dean. The piece’s three parts are “Inferno,” “Purgatorio,” and “Paradiso.”

Dante is inspired by the alternately chilling and sunlit landscapes of La Divina Commedia. Written in the fourteenth century, this seminal Italian poem recounts an initiatory journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise. McGregor and Adès bring the medieval Christian fantasy to life with a narrative arc about a young woman named Beatrice who embodies a promise of love and hope. Opéra National de Paris, where Dudamel is Music Director, performs The Dante Project this April and May; the London Philharmonic features Dante’s first part performs “Inferno” performs on a February 22 concert program conducted by Adès.

Written in the 14th century, this seminal Italian poem recounts an initiatory journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise. Adès and choreographer Wayne McGregor brought this medieval Christian fantasy to life as The Dante Project in London 2021 with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Ballet via a narrative arc about a young woman named Beatrice who embodies a promise of love and hope.

“In any new shortlist of great ballet scores by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Bartók, Ravel, Prokofiev, Britten, and Bernstein, Dante must newly be included for its musical invention alone. There is not a second in its 88 minutes that doesn’t delight. All of it is unexpected and wanted.” — Los Angeles Times

“A dizzying homage to Liszt, synagogue music, and the enchantingly upward infinity of the cosmos. Conceived as a ballet score, [Dante] belongs alongside the great dance music of Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky that thrives on the concert stage.” — The New York Times

Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, music & artistic director
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, artistic director
Jenny Wong, associate artistic director

No biography found.

Booklet for Thomas Adès: Dante