Composers

Adamo took his inspiration for his “August Music” from Ingmar Bergman’s movie, “Smiles of a Summer Night,” and its three brief movements represent the smiles: The Wise, The Lovers and The Fools. The string quartet collaborated with flutists Bowman and Perlove for the work’s first performance. It was instantly engaging, by turns pointed and lyrical, with mild dissonances adding spice. Adamo, whose third opera, “The Gospel of Mary Magdalene,” will be premiered by San Francisco Opera this spring, is a gifted composer of melody. The flutists had a charming theme accompanied by pizzicato strings in the first movement, and in the second, the flutes were set against a shimmering backdrop. The finale was a perpetual motion, with virtuosic flourishes for the soloists. The two flutists gave it a beguiling reading, Bowman with a big silvery sound, and Perlove’s more golden and mellow.