The The Cleveland Orchestra writes:
Composer, conductor, and creative thinker John Adams occupies a unique position in the world of music. His works stand out among contemporary classical compositions for their depth of expression, brilliance of sound, and the profoundly humanist nature of their themes. For his oratorio El Niño, Adams imagines a modern-day miracle, retelling the story of the Messiah through a constellation of references from medieval chant to contemporary Latin American poetry. “John Adams's nativity oratorio is a ...