David Lang

There's so much of literature that we love, and it all ends up being people and money problems.

But it isn't only the problems he was interested in.

I think The Wealth of Nations is Adam Smith's idea about how everyone in the world gets along.

And we hear how all that becomes musical.

I really have nothing to do.

It's really the shockingly most empty period of my life.

I'm just sitting around nervous because I go up and down thinking that I did something that I'm really proud of.

And I'm also unaware of all of the titanic errors that I may have made that I will only have five minutes to fix.

Let's step back for a minute.

How did this piece come to be commissioned?

This piece actually started with another piece.

I did a project called Prisoner of the State for the New York Philharmonic, where I rewrote Beethoven's opera Fidelio.

I took out the love story and all the comic elements, and I just left the prison story.

It was really fun, and it was a really successful project, which they really liked.

So, of course, I went in and I said...

I really am happy that you like this project.

And you know, I have another project to make a piece out of The Wealth of Nations.

Had you already read the book?

I wasn't going to read the book unless I had a gig to read the book.

It's a long book.