"The experience is uplifting, exquisitely unique, and utterly unforgettable." — Vincent Plush, The Australian

Horizon is sublimely beautiful, evocative music written for and recorded by the celebrated Australian Chamber Orchestra. In two movements—”True Horizon” and “Visible Horizon”—Adams writes about the piece, “Surrounded by ocean and with sprawling open spaces at its heart, Australia is a continent where the visible horizon is often the true horizon. I began composing “True Horizon” in the middle of the Pacific, en route to Australia. I worked on “Visible Horizon” in the tropical savannah of northern Australia and in the great red desert of central Australia. I continued my work scanning the horizon from the shore of the Tasman Sea. And I completed the full score in the forested hills and grasslands of the southern mainland.”

John Luther Adams is a Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning composer whose music is a profound response to the natural world. He lived for many years in Alaska, where his work derived much of its unique character from the landscape and weather of the Great North. Some years ago, he moved from Alaska, living in various desert and mountain areas in South and Central America and in rural New Mexico and, for the past two years, in various parts of Australia—all places that also inspired and found expression in his music. He is a long-time associate of the Cold Blue label; his music has appeared on ten previous Cold Blue CDs, including Waves and Particles (Grammy nominated), Darkness and Scattered Light (Grammy nominated), Houses of the Wind, Arctic Dreams, Everything That Rises, and Lines Made by Walking. (Grammy nominated).

“John Luther Adams . . . one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century.” — Alex Ross, The New Yorker

“His music becomes more than a metaphor for natural forces: it is an elemental experience in its own right.” —Tom Service, The Guardian

“His music perfectly echoes the landscape he loves: impersonal, relentless, larger than human scale, yet gorgeous, a quiet chaos of colors, suffused with light.” —Kyle Gann, Chamber Music Magazine

“Adams’s major works have the appearance of being beyond style; they transcend the squabbles of contemporary classical music.” —Alex Ross, The New Yorker

The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is a unique, highly lauded string orchestra led by Richard Tognetti. It tours the world, performing works from all periods of Western classical music, and has recordings on ABC Classics, BIS, Hyperion, Chandos, Sony, and other labels.

“Australian Chamber Orchestra … the finest chamber orchestra on Earth —The Telegraph (UK)

“An orchestra that, by any standards, is one of the wonders of the musical world today.” —The Guardian

“The ACO are uniformly high-octane, arresting, never ordinary.” —The Australian

“ACO . . . invigorating and highly cultivated—a breath of fresh cultural air” —Gramophone magazine

“This terrific string ensemble … seems to shine at anything it undertakes.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“The ACO is always at the forefront of experimental music.” —Sydney Morning Herald

“The Australian Chamber Orchestra is the sort of orchestra to do exactly what’s not expected.” —Time Out