An instrumentalist from this country and the Kronos Quartet commissioned and premiered Terry Riley’s The Cusp of Magic. John Adams composed an “almost perfect” palindrome in a piano piece named for this country, which is paired with his Phrygian Gates. An opera set in this country was the basis for a “foxtrot for orchestra” commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra, which depicts how the principal tenor “dances.” Christian Wolff’s gift of a text from this country inspired Music of Changes, a piece of indeterminate music by John Cage. An airplane called the “Spirit of ’76” lands at the start of an opera set in this country inspired by a diplomatic rapprochement. For 10 points, John Adams composed an opera based on Richard Nixon’s state visit to what country? ■END■
ANSWER: China [or People’s Republic of China or PRC; or Zhōngguó or Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó]
<Classical Music>
= Average correct buzz position