Elliott Carter, 1908-2012

[(poco) Sforzando]

Well, today I got my Pacifica's recording of Carter's First and Fifth Quartets on Naxos. Tonioght I listened to the Fifth, twice. It's a crisp, full-throated reading, very enjoyable. I'd say it's worth the price of admission. I'll get back to you again when I've listened to the First. 

Were any of you fortunate enough to get to the Pacifica cycle tonight? (Or rather, since it's close to 1 am, yesterday evening.) Marvelous playing.

[bhodges]

Were any of you fortunate enough to get to the Pacifica cycle tonight? (Or rather, since it's close to 1 am, yesterday evening.) Marvelous playing.

Alas, I had thought about it but had some other things to attend to, since I'm going to concerts basically every night for a week, including the final Carter concert on Saturday.

I bet it was fantastic.  Were there many people there?  (I know the Ethical Culture Society can seat quite a few.)  And was Carter there?

--Bruce

[(poco) Sforzando]

Alas, I had thought about it but had some other things to attend to, since I'm going to concerts basically every night for a week, including the final Carter concert on Saturday.

I bet it was fantastic.  Were there many people there?  (I know the Ethical Culture Society can seat quite a few.)  And was Carter there?

--Bruce

It was kind of fantastic. No #1 in particular, my favorite of the five, was done as well as I've ever heard. Not completely sold out, but Carter was there - looking quite frail as of now.

I hope I can get into Saturday night's event. If not, Tanglewood here I come. (Which I probably will do anyway.)

[bhodges]

It was kind of fantastic. No #1 in particular, my favorite of the five, was done as well as I've ever heard. Not completely sold out, but Carter was there - looking quite frail as of now.

I hope I can get into Saturday night's event. If not, Tanglewood here I come. (Which I probably will do anyway.)

Thanks, I like the First, too--and the Fifth.  (Well, all of them, really.)  If you arrive early on Saturday, you should be able to get in.  For the Boulez concert last Friday, at least three different friends all got in, and all without tickets.  (Granted, I saw one of them sitting in the second row, near the stage--not my fave place for sound, although you'd get a great view of the podium.)

--Bruce

[bhodges]

Really, you didn't like the Aimard recording?   

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Really, you didn't like the Aimard recording?   

He really didn't like one minute of it, anyway, Bruce.

[toledobass]

American chamber groups /pianists need to drop all their projects and get busy  on Carter

The cantakerous Critic..

Why?  so you can dismiss the recordings as nothing but a weak effort?  Seems to me if you really enjoyed the music you'd try as hard as you could to understand what the few recorded performances have to offer. 

Allan

[Joe Barron]

Herewith my review of the new Naxos recording, which should appear soon at Amazon. I gave the disk four stars, and no, I didn't get to see the Pacifica in New York last night. 

It shouldn't be necessary to mention in every review that Elliott Carter will turn 100 in December 2008 and that at 99 he is still vital and composing, but it's just too impressive and heartening a fact to ignore. As a centenary offering, Naxos is releasing Carter's five string quartets in two volumes, performed by the Pacifica Quartet. This first disk contains the composer's first and last (to date) works in the genre.

The First, from 1951, is generally considered Carter's breakthrough into his signature brand of modernism — a sweeping, forty minute tour de force, in three big sections, teeming with all the technical and expressive idea that had been lurking in the composer's subconscious. The Pacifica, a young group, plays with energy and a high polish that emphasizes beauty over drama, and a blending rather than a confrontation of instruments. The rich sound is particularly impressive in the opening Maestoso. The players seem to lose focus in the transition between the adagio and the variations, but they recover in the finale, which, in their hands, is luminous, rather than driving. The work is multifaceted and deep enough to support the approach. The Pacifica reveals a side to Carter that, in the face of all the clichés about his spiky modernism, has been unfairly overlooked.

The Fifth Quartet, which appeared forty-four years after the First, inhabits much the same sound world, but on a more concentrated, intimate scale. The piece is half the length of the First Quartet, yet it has twice as many tracks, each between one and three minutes long. The introduction is followed by six movements, each with a single, sustained character, separated by five interludes that mix together fragments of the extended music. Carter has compared the piece to a chamber rehearsal, in which the musicians comment on what they've just played or try out bits of what they are going to play later. The piece is also self-referential, recapping textures, techniques and moods, though not literal passages, from his four earlier quartets. The pizzicato Capriccioso that ends the work recalls the Third Quartet, the Presto scorrevole refers directly to the Allegro scorrevole of the First Quartet, and some the solo passages in the interludes remind me of the solos in the Second. Carter says he wrote the Fifth Quartet as a "farewell to the previous four and an exploration of a new vision," though we may still hope it is not a farewell to the form itself. The notes, by Bayan Northcott, say the music has a playful, divertimento-like character, but I must add this lightness does not rule out many passages of great power and anguished lyricism. The Pacific gives a crisp reading that benefits from a spacious reverb. Brandon Vamos' incisive, rich-toned cello playing in this piece deserves special mention.

A second Naxos disk, containing the Pacifica's recordings Second, Third and Fourth quartets, is scheduled for release in summer of 2008. When it arrives, we shall at last have a unified cycle of Carter's greatest chamber music, played, moreover, by enthusiastic young champions who understand and love it. That's a present worthy of the man's hundredth birthday.

[not edward]

Nice review. The Guardian's Andrew Clements likes it too: http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/andrewclements/story/0,,2250178,00.html

[Joe Barron]

Nice review. The Guardian's Andrew Clements likes it too: http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/andrewclements/story/0,,2250178,00.html

So does the Times.

[bhodges]

Herewith my review of the new Naxos recording, which should appear soon at Amazon. I gave the disk four stars, and no, I didn't get to see the Pacifica in New York last night. 

It shouldn't be necessary to mention in every review that Elliott Carter will turn 100 in December 2008 and that at 99 he is still vital and composing, but it's just too impressive and heartening a fact to ignore. As a centenary offering, Naxos is releasing Carter's five string quartets in two volumes, performed by the Pacifica Quartet. This first disk contains the composer's first and last (to date) works in the genre.

The First, from 1951, is generally considered Carter's breakthrough into his signature brand of modernism — a sweeping, forty minute tour de force, in three big sections, teeming with all the technical and expressive idea that had been lurking in the composer's subconscious. The Pacifica, a young group, plays with energy and a high polish that emphasizes beauty over drama, and a blending rather than a confrontation of instruments. The rich sound is particularly impressive in the opening Maestoso. The players seem to lose focus in the transition between the adagio and the variations, but they recover in the finale, which, in their hands, is luminous, rather than driving. The work is multifaceted and deep enough to support the approach. The Pacifica reveals a side to Carter that, in the face of all the clichés about his spiky modernism, has been unfairly overlooked.

The Fifth Quartet, which appeared forty-four years after the First, inhabits much the same sound world, but on a more concentrated, intimate scale. The piece is half the length of the First Quartet, yet it has twice as many tracks, each between one and three minutes long. The introduction is followed by six movements, each with a single, sustained character, separated by five interludes that mix together fragments of the extended music. Carter has compared the piece to a chamber rehearsal, in which the musicians comment on what they've just played or try out bits of what they are going to play later. The piece is also self-referential, recapping textures, techniques and moods, though not literal passages, from his four earlier quartets. The pizzicato Capriccioso that ends the work recalls the Third Quartet, the Presto scorrevole refers directly to the Allegro scorrevole of the First Quartet, and some the solo passages in the interludes remind me of the solos in the Second. Carter says he wrote the Fifth Quartet as a "farewell to the previous four and an exploration of a new vision," though we may still hope it is not a farewell to the form itself. The notes, by Bayan Northcott, say the music has a playful, divertimento-like character, but I must add this lightness does not rule out many passages of great power and anguished lyricism. The Pacific gives a crisp reading that benefits from a spacious reverb. Brandon Vamos' incisive, rich-toned cello playing in this piece deserves special mention.

A second Naxos disk, containing the Pacifica's recordings Second, Third and Fourth quartets, is scheduled for release in summer of 2008. When it arrives, we shall at last have a unified cycle of Carter's greatest chamber music, played, moreover, by enthusiastic young champions who understand and love it. That's a present worthy of the man's hundredth birthday.

Excellent write-up, Joe!  May try to snag a copy this weekend.  And thanks guys, for pointing out the Guardian and Times comments. 

--Bruce

[paulb]

So does the Times.

What would the times Know about music/honest unbiased criticism?

Now you pushed my button.
I had made vaious posts about your review, which is true i've not heard the Naxos cd but did read some reviews of the Julliard recording, where the reviews said they take the 1st sq too slow, Which i didn't find all that slwo compared to the naxos cd.
The Julliard's opening to the 3rd sq was not all that "polished' , in fact sounded abit discombobulated.
Anyway, i've not herad the Naxos, based only on my clip thing.
What do i know. Only that i am not as biased as The times, which are really off time, more often than in the times.

[bhodges]

Reading The New York Times is just like reading any other opinions: you get to know the writers and gradually get to know how their tastes compare with yours.  (And PS, the Times writers are all quite different from each other.)  In this case, the article was written by Steve Smith, who is very knowledgeable in addition to writing very well.  I like his recommendations, but if on balance, you don't agree with him, hey, that's fine.

--Bruce

[bhodges]

And yet another review of the quartets disc on Ionarts, the Washington, DC blog.

--Bruce

[Joe Barron]

Excellent write-up, Joe! 

Well, then, go to Amazon and give me a helpful vote! 

Well, gee, I didn't mean to press anyone's buttons. I like the Juilliard's set of the quartets on Sony, especially the Second, which is the performance I listen to more than any other. As for the tempos in the first, what some call sluggish, I would call luxuriant.

[bhodges]

Well, then, go to Amazon and give me a helpful vote! 

Done!

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Ditto.

[paulb]

Well, then, go to Amazon and give me a helpful vote! 

Well, gee, I didn't mean to press anyone's buttons. I like the Juilliard's set of the quartets on Sony, especially the Second, which is the performance I listen to more than any other. As for the tempos in the first, what some call sluggish, I would call luxuriant.

Any group that records Carter is a  friend of mine. I do not mean to knock  the Pacifica's efforts of this extremely challenging chamber, there really is  no one definitive way to approach these magnificient string quartets.  These 5 sq's represent the very finest quartets every scored by any composer in the history of music. (apologies to the Beethovenians for that confession).
EDIT: I forgot the 4 Schnittke sq's. Both Carter and Schnittke are the highest experience concerning quartet genre.

[paulb]

And i do have the right to make that personal statement of experience.That the 5 sq's from Elliot Carter are along with Alfred Schnittke's 4 sq's, these 2 composers represent the highest expression of the quartet literature in classical music.

[Wendell_E]

Well, then, go to Amazon and give me a helpful vote! 

Done!

--Bruce

Ditto.

Me, too.  And I bought it, while I was there (I already had it in my shopping cart).