« Financial innovation hasn't stopped, it's just being done by the government | Main | Is February 10th National Bankruptcy Day? »
Elliott Carter turns 100 today
The best place to start is his Sonata for Cello and Piano, the Double Concerto for Harpischord and Piano, and the Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello, and Harpischord, all collected here. The string quartets and the sonata for violin and piano are also important, plus the short late works for solo instruments or small ensembles or voice; choose by which instruments you like best.
Here is Q&A with Elliott Carter, interesting throughout. It ends with this:
What are the things that people say to you that are meaningful?
People say they like my music very much, but I’m 100 years old.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on December 11, 2008 at 05:17 PM in Music | Permalink
Comments
Um, that is in fact a link to a book about life under Augusto Pinochet... probably will want to fix that link.
Posted by: mk at Dec 11, 2008 5:37:14 PM
Fixed, thanks...
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Dec 11, 2008 5:51:04 PM
I just saw his "Horn Concerto" in Boston, it was interesting. Reminded me of the soundtrack to a Charlie Kaufman movie for some reason.
This part of the interview is cool:
You’ve said that you try to incorporate the pace of modern life into your music.
Carter: It’s partially true at least. The older music that we know, Beethoven, Brahms, they were all living in a period when you walked or rode on horseback or soldiers marched, and that established a different pace and detail of movement and it’s reflected in the music.
Now we fly on airplanes and such, and even though people do dance, the idea of motion is utterly different these days. I find that my students who have become conservative bother me because they don’t see it that way.
Posted by: mk at Dec 11, 2008 6:24:41 PM
NPR Evening Edition had a good interview this evening.
Posted by: John B. Chilton at Dec 11, 2008 8:48:41 PM
He was also on Charlie Rose.
http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/6531
Posted by: Jeff at Dec 11, 2008 9:04:11 PM
There are also some spectacular Elizabeth Bishop settings from the 1970s: A Mirror on which to Dwell. Not to be missed.
A Symphony of Three Orchestras is wonderful, too.
Posted by: at Dec 12, 2008 12:16:02 AM
Variations for Orchestra also good.
Posted by: Barkley Rosser at Dec 12, 2008 12:27:15 AM
Variations for Orchestra also good.
Posted by: Barkley Rosser at Dec 12, 2008 12:28:51 AM
I love his music. He is such a admirable person. Hopefully he'll live another 100 years, in order to enrich our lives with his fascinating compositions.
Posted by: Flüge at Dec 12, 2008 6:45:30 AM
Agree with Fluge - he's a very warm person.
Posted by: at Dec 12, 2008 7:58:04 AM
It's funny how, if someone describes a piece of music I haven't heard as "beautiful" or "gorgeous" I'm often inclined to check it out. But "important"? Not so much.
Posted by: Ian at Dec 13, 2008 8:50:02 AM
It's funny how, if someone describes a piece of music I haven't heard as "beautiful" or "gorgeous" I'm often inclined to check it out. But "important"? Not so much.
Posted by: Ian at Dec 13, 2008 8:50:13 AM
Hi there,
I found great ideas on your Web site.
Well done !
Thanks for that and keep on doing
Greetings from germany
Thomas
Posted by: Thomas , Zauberer Zauberkünstler at May 30, 2009 6:11:23 AM
Born in 1908, Carter was encouraged to pursue music by the composer Charles Ives. While Carter is considered by many in the classical music world to be one of America's greatest living composers, his work may on first blush sound chaotic and unstructured. However, this only contributes to his creativity, being hailed by composer Aaron Copland as "One of America's most distinguished creative artists in any field." I believe Carter's uniquely complex art form and willingness to experiment with new styles has fundamentally changed the game, challenging our conceptions of how classical music could and should sound....
Posted by: Gummistiefel at Jul 15, 2009 9:54:53 PM
I love this kind of music. As I am an actor, too I`m often searching for special music for my show.
Posted by: Zauberer Markus at Oct 25, 2009 6:39:00 PM
I love variations of orchestra - the peaceful and warm music makes me happy
Posted by: Ballonkünstler at Nov 22, 2009 2:27:48 AM
