John Adams is the subject of a Focus series at Barbican Hall in London this season, which recently brought the composer to the Hall to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra in the UK premiere of his Doctor Atomic Symphony and, last week, the European premiere of his latest work, City Noir. The Times of London gives the latter performance four stars, calling it "brilliant" and crediting "its volcanic force, multilayered textures, hair-raising climaxes and symphonic arguments." Times reviewer Richard Morrison says: "A vast orchestra is deployed with masterly assurance. And there’s even room in this whirling vortex for yearning string melodies and moments of eerie calm and beauty." Read the review at entertainment.timesonline.co.uk.

Adams and the LSO bring City Noir and the rest of last week's Barbican program, including works by Ravel, Stravinsky, and Debussy, to Salle Pleyel in Paris for the French premiere of the new piece this Tuesday. The concert marks the start of Domain privé John Adams, an 11-day celebration of the composer's music, the remainder of which will be held at the Cité de la musique, featuring six concerts, three premieres, and a forum with Adams.

All day Saturday, the Amphitheater of Cité de la musique will play host to Forum John Adams, which begins with a screening of Wonders Are Many, the documentary that goes behind the scenes of Adams's 2005 opera Doctor Atomic, followed by a discussion with the composer and then a performance of his 1993 tape piece Hoodoo Zephyr under sound engineer Mark Grey.

The day's activities culminate in a performance of Adams's most recent opera, A Flowering Tree, by the Orquestra Gulbenkian, in the Cité de la musique Concert Hall, featuring soprano Jessica Rivera, who originated the role and performed on the original Nonesuch recording. Prior to the concert, musicologist Evan Rothstein will lead a pre-concert "Zoom on a Work," which takes a closer look at the piece and helps audience prepare for the performance.

On Monday, March 23, also in the Amphitheater, the St. Lawrence String Quartet will give the French premiere of Adams's String Quartet, paired with quartets by Ravel and Haydn. Adams wrote the piece for the St. Lawrence, which gave the world premiere at the Juilliard School in New York last year.

The following Friday, March 26, in the Cité Concert Hall, conductor Lawrence Renes will lead the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in a program of works by Ives, Barber, and Stravinsky that closes with Adams's 1985 piece Harmonielehre.

Domain privé John Adams concludes that Saturday, March 27, with an all-Adams program by the Asko / Schönberg Ensemble, with the composer conducting. On the program is the French premiere of Son of Chamber Symphony, its predecessor Chamber Symphony (1992), and Shaker Loops (1978).

For more information on all of the events in Domain privé John Adams, visit cite-musique.fr.

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Adams first opera, 1987’s Nixon in China, received its Canadian premiere this past weekend in a performance by the Vancouver Opera at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Saturday, as part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad. The Vancouver Sun calls the production, which continues this week, “brilliantly effective.” Read the review at vancouversun.com.

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It's not just concert halls and opera houses providing a venue for Adams's work. Flavorwire, the site for cultural news and critique from Flavorpill, takes a look at "Indie Rock's 5 Favorite Classical Composers," listing the five composers whose work has most influenced today's crop of indie pop makers, and Adams makes the grade. Steve Reich is on there as well, along with Pärt, Monteverdi, and Stockhausen. To hear why, visit flavorwire.com.