"The nature that John Luther Adams wants to conjure is real, not some imagined fantasy of the outdoors to symbolize the human condition. Humanity is not built to survive the desert for long stretches. An orchestral piece about the desert should, Adams’ music suggests, reflect the inability to conquer vast swaths of arid land."
—Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork
"It’s an expansive, slow-moving creation, in which vast, almost unchanging harmonies coexist with teeming, crystalline details. And the orchestration, a vivid combination of jangling percussion, choral singing and blended brass choirs, creates a world of sumptuous color."
—Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
''Become Desert is constantly in flux. Through intricate orchestration, Adams conjures glistening shafts of light, distant rolling thunder and flickering colors refracting in the haze of desert heat. The closer one listens to this 40-minute mirage, more is revealed, perhaps even something close to enlightenment.''
—Tom Huizenga, NPR Music
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