Top 10 Recordings of 2002 – New Sounds, WNYC 100 Musical Biases 2002 – L.A. Weekly

“The world of John Luther Adams is more than a translation of some majestic landscape – it is the search for colors, for nuances…” – Stefan Tiron, Alternativ

“… long, sustained harmonies with puffs of arctic winds blowing the sound one way or another… as much snow-strewn color as sound (but pleasurable in either guise)… beautifully played…” – Alan Rich, L.A. Weekly

“The icy cover gives some indication of the shimmering crystal music inside. How six musicians make such a dense, hovering, magical sound is beyond me. Slowly change happens, textures appear and reappear, an endlessly fascinating, almost static, audio display. This is careful, mesmerizing music… a mournful, funereal space walk.” – Tangents

“…simply beautiful… Adams’ music sounds like it has nothing to accomplish. It simply exists, hanging in mid-air, waiting to be listened to.” – The All Music Guide

“These pieces are as inscrutable as a fifteenth-century mass by Ockeghem, but more colorful, and just as noble-sounding.” – Kyle Gann, Chamber Music Magazine

“Brilliant, crystalline waves of sound… Adams’ music is never less than spellbinding.” – Sequenza 21

“… amazingly beautiful, peaceful, and reflective…” – Chamber Music Magazine

“… the pieces evolve slowly and are almost indiscernible, quietly working their way into a listener’s mind, spreading calm…” – Sonomu