Before John Adams conducts his opera Nixon In China this evening at the Proms, today's programme explores his works that were written on a more intimate scale. In conversation with the composer, Donald Macleod looks at a 'virtuoso monstrosity' - the sequel to his Chamber Symphony, one of his earliest pieces for tape and strings, and his recent string quartet. They discuss the traces of Schoenberg, Ives and even Duke Ellington that can be heard in Adams's music. Show less