John Adams (15 febbraio 1947): Lollapalooza (1995); composto come regalo per il 40° compleanno del direttore d’orchestra Simon Rattle. Hallé Orchestra, dir. Kent Nagano.
Lollapalooza: a slang term meaning something or someone striking or unusual (Urban Dictionary ).
Mark-Anthony Turnage (10 giugno 1960): Three Screaming Popes after Francis Bacon, per grande orchestra (1988–89). Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, dir. Simon Rattle.
« In 1985 I went to see a stunning exhibition of Francis Bacon’s paintings at the Tate Gallery. I was particularly taken with the three Pope paintings, based on Pope Innocent X by Velázquez, and my initial idea was to write a piece which distorted a set of Spanish dances as Bacon had distorted and restated the Velázquez. In the process of writing the piece, the dances (like a first layer of paint, or an outline) became so submerged in the other textures of the piece that only a faint trace is visible – just a hint of a tango here and there. What I hope comes across is the colouristic intensity and emotional immediacy of the paintings » (Mark-Anthony Turnage).
la regina gioiosa