John Adams's music has long captivated listeners with its distinctive American character. City Noir was inspired by the cultural and social history of Los Angeles. Adams called it "an imaginary film score" that evokes a brief, melodramatic, and ominous sonic landscape. Fearful Symmetries exemplifies Adams's steamroller-like rhythms, endlessly inventive in their shifts of timbre, texture, and color. The album concludes with a work dedicated to Marin Alsop, a quirky "Spider Dance" with a memorable rhythmic drive.