Elliott Carter, 1908-2012

[Concord]

My review is now posted at Amazon.

[not edward]

At any given moment, it is interesting, but it is rarely clear to me where the music is going and why.  I think my favorite part was a sort of fantasia for solo trumpet near the very beginning.

That solo trumpet passage is one of the more "famous" parts of Carter's work. He made an extended transcription of it for solo trumpet late in his career as part of his Retracing series.

I think following the thread of Carter's music is one of the tougher things to get used to (I remember going to the UK premiere of the clarinet concerto, thoroughly enjoying the first half or so, then losing the thread of the music and never picking it up again). The '60s and '70s works are probably the toughest nuts in that regard due to the exceptional density of musical material; earlier works like the Variations for Orchestra or late ones like Symphonia or the Boston Concerto are much easier to navigate.

[CRCulver]

My experience with Carter now is that I generally enjoy what I hear, but have the dispiriting impression that I am only enjoying the surface veneer of the music and that there is something deeper going on that I am entirely missing.  Or maybe that's all there is (I doubt it).

I am not sure there is anything going on underneath, at least in the post-1980 works. The composer himself repeatedly described his aesthetic as a conversation going on between the various instruments, so the constantly shifting surface is the message of the piece.

Of course, in pieces like the Piano Concerto the bloody confrontation between the soloist and orchestra also involves a small ensemble of orchestral instruments that are supposed to be on the pianist's side or at least "comfort" him, and that detail can get lost in a recording of the piece or a muddy concert performance. But most of mature Carter is much more transparent.

[not edward]

I am not sure there is anything going on underneath, at least in the post-1980 works. The composer himself repeatedly described his aesthetic as a conversation going on between the various instruments, so the constantly shifting surface is the message of the piece.

This is true sometimes, certainly, but I often think there's also something that Ives might have referred to as "shutting up and walking up the mountain side to view the firmament". This perhaps manifests itself most obviously in moments when the surface texture becomes very much simpler and the underlying harmonies shine through, and I think these passages are very significant in the later works (say in the Lutoslawskian cantilena passage near the end of the Boston Concerto or the "slow movement" in the flute concerto, or several passages in the song cycle Tempo e tempi).

[Leo K.]

I've never been on a Carter binge, but here I am listening and getting everything I can! I'm loving ALL of what I'm hearing. Hearing his music is a true revelation to me personally. Aces!

[Karl Henning]

Excellent!

[Leo K.]

Thanks Karl!

Well, I've been listening to various broadcasts of Dialogues, and oh my, what a ravishing work! Pierre-Laurent Aimard is my favorite pianist with this piece so far.

[Leo K.]

I received a broadcast of Barenboim conducting a short orchestral work (w/piano) called SOUNDINGS. Wow. Incredible explosions of sound and lyricism.

[Karl Henning]

Hmm, have I heard that one? . . .

[Leo K.]

and Carter's Flute Concerto, a complete revelation.

[Leo K.]

Karl, here's what John Link says about Soundings:

"Soundings (2005) is equally colorful. It was written for Daniel
Barenboim to conduct from the piano, and opens like a concerto grosso
with piano soloist. But once the solo-tutti-solo pattern is established it
gives way to a trio for oboe, bassoon, and horn, and the piano disappears
until the very end. The remaining tutti frame soli for a quartet of English
horn and three different-sized clarinets; a trio of piccolos (accompanied
by two solo violins and xylophone); and a lyrical tuba solo, written for
the Chicago Symphony's remarkable principal tuba Gene Pokorny."

[Cato]

Karl, here's what John Link says about Soundings:

"Soundings (2005) is equally colorful. It was written for Daniel
Barenboim to conduct from the piano, and opens like a concerto grosso
with piano soloist. But once the solo-tutti-solo pattern is established it
gives way to a trio for oboe, bassoon, and horn, and the piano disappears
until the very end. The remaining tutti frame soli for a quartet of English
horn and three different-sized clarinets; a trio of piccolos (accompanied
by two solo violins and xylophone); and a lyrical tuba solo, written for
the Chicago Symphony's remarkable principal tuba Gene Pokorny."

Allow me to recommend the Symphonia Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei which is a real ride!   

[Leo K.]

Allow me to recommend the Symphonia Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei which is a real ride!   

Thanks Cato! I sure will soon!

[snyprrr]

So, what, is all that Late Carter profusion a different Composer? That's why I stayed away, because I though more people were going to like it!

Doesn't his new style begin with the Violin Concerto? or right after?

What's THE Late Carter piece that I just must hear to believe? There's a LOT!...

[Karl Henning]

You're worried that people will like the music, aren't you? 

[Leo K.]

So, what, is all that Late Carter profusion a different Composer? That's why I stayed away, because I though more people were going to like it!

Doesn't his new style begin with the Violin Concerto? or right after?

What's THE Late Carter piece that I just must hear to believe? There's a LOT!...

I would suggest The Boston Concerto or The Horn Concerto.

[not edward]

And NMC takes a break from their usual British rep to release this tempting-looking Carter DVD:

http://www.nmcrec.co.uk/recording/103rd-birthday-concert-dvd

Lots of stuff previously unrecorded here, including A Sunbeam's Architecture, the String Trio and the Double Trio.


... as for late Carter, Symphonia or the Boston Concerto would be my choices for an introduction.

[San Antone]

And NMC takes a break from their usual British rep to release this tempting-looking Carter DVD:

http://www.nmcrec.co.uk/recording/103rd-birthday-concert-dvd

Lots of stuff previously unrecorded here, including A Sunbeam's Architecture, the String Trio and the Double Trio.


... as for late Carter, Symphonia or the Boston Concerto would be my choices for an introduction.

I agree, it does look tempting.  Thanks for the link.

[CRCulver]

No specifics about audio (like 5.1 surround). I worry this is going to be the kind of mediocre video recording that we saw on Naxos's Carter 100 CD+DVD set.

[snyprrr]

And NMC takes a break from their usual British rep to release this tempting-looking Carter DVD:

http://www.nmcrec.co.uk/recording/103rd-birthday-concert-dvd

Lots of stuff previously unrecorded here, including A Sunbeam's Architecture, the String Trio and the Double Trio.


... as for late Carter, Symphonia or the Boston Concerto would be my choices for an introduction.

I would suggest The Boston Concerto or The Horn Concerto.

Boston Concerto it is then. I have, and enjoy, the Symphonae.