John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls and 9/11 Memorialization

About this event

The orchestral work “On the Transmigration of Souls” by composer John Adams won a Pulitzer Prize and conveys the trauma of 9/11 and its aftermath. Commissioned and premiered by the New York Philharmonic, it was initially well-received. Abigail Shupe uses musical and cultural theory to compare “On the Transmigration of Souls” with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, situating the music within the initial military response to 9/11. Juxtaposing the structure of the physical memorial-museum alongside the aesthetic features of Adams’s piece yields insights into the complex issues related to traumatic event memorialization. Part of the Library’s commemoration of America 250.

Tickets are free but required. Tickets will become available Wednesday, 7 October at 10 a.m. ET.

From Library of Congress