Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony join forces with America's most-performed living composer John Adams for an album featuring two works written for the San Francisco Symphony. In the world premiere recording of Absolute Jest, we hear Adams's inspired and witty take on Beethoven's spirited scherzos and in Grand Pianola Music, led here by John Adams, we revel in tongue-in-cheek allusions to Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. Both works speak to the deeply personal and vital relationship of some of the top musicians of our time.