“An interesting thing has happened to John Adams during the past year or so. With neither discussion nor fanfare, he has become America’s composer laureate.” Not bad for a guy who saw performances of his music cancelled after 9/11, and has often been sharply criticized for an opera based on a real-life terrorist attack. The fact is, though, that America hasn’t had a true National Composer since Copland. “Samuel Barber’s music, for instance, is too genteel, [Charles] Ives’ too ornery and disruptive, Leonard Bernstein’s too inconsistent, Elliott Carter’s too ugly.” Adams, it seems, is just about right.