The Chairman Dances

The Chairman Dances is a 1985 composition by John Adams,^[1] subtitled Foxtrot for Orchestra and lasting about 13 minutes. A commission from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, it has several dance-like tunes and has been described by Adams as an "outtake" from Act III of the opera he was working on at the time, Nixon in China.^[2] The word "Dances" in the title is a verb, not a noun. In the opera, the music depicts Madame Mao gate-crashing a presidential banquet, hanging paper lanterns, and performing a seductive dance; Chairman Mao descends from his portrait, and the two dance a foxtrot, back in time together. The piece ends with the sound of a gramophone winding down.^[2]

The Chairman Dances was used in the Civilization IV^[3] and I Am Love^[4] soundtracks.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for a large orchestra.^[5]

Woodwinds: 2 flutes, both doubling piccolo; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets in B♭, second doubling bass clarinet; 2 bassoons

Brass: 4 horns in F; 2 trumpets in B♭; 2 tenor trombones; tuba

Percussion: glockenspiel; vibraphone; xylophone; crotales; sandpaper blocks; wood blocks, high and medium; crash cymbal; hi-hat; suspended cymbal; sizzle cymbal, suspended; claves; bell tree; triangle; tambourine; castanets; snare drum; pedal bass drum; timpani

Keyboards: piano

Strings: harp; string section

References

^ Cahill, Sarah. "Adams, John". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Adams, John (23 September 2003). ""The Chairman Dances"". Earbox. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
^ Grahckheuhl (2010-09-26), Civilization 4 Soundtrack: The Chairman Dances: Foxtrot for Orchestra, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2016-07-26
^ IMDB (2010-10-18), I Am Love trailer, retrieved 2016-10-18
^ Adams, John (1985). "The Chairman Dances: Foxtrot for Orchestra". G. Schirmer Inc. Retrieved April 24, 2016.