Elliott Carter

On this CD:

1. Enchanted Preludes for flute & cello
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

2. Con Leggerezza Pensosa
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

3. Triple Duo
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

4. Gra, for solo clarinet
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

5. Riconoscenza (Per Goffredo Petrassi) for violin solo
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

6. 90+, for piano
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

7. Esprit Rude, Esprit Doux for flute & clarinet
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

8. Esprit rude / Esprit doux 2, for flute, clarinet & marimba
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

9. Concerto for clarinet
Composed by Elliott Carter
Performed by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Caroline Lizotte
Conducted by Lorraine Vaillancourt

Carter: Clarinet Concerto, Triple Duo, Enchanted Preludes, Con leggerezza pensosa, Gra, Riconoscenza per Goffredo Petrassi, 90+, Esprit rude/Esprit doux I and II, Music, Elliott Carter, Lorraine Vaillancourt, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Caroline Lizotte, Chamber, Chamber Music, Chamber Music & Recitals, Clarinet Concerto, Clarinet Solo/Sonata, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Concerto, Duo for Two Woodwind Instruments, Keyboard, Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title, Mixed Chamber Ensemble with Keyboard, Trio for Mixed Instruments without Keyboard, Violin Solo
The Music of Elliott Carter Vol. 7; Boston Concerto, Cello Concerto, ASKO Concerto, Dialogues
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Some of the Carter's best works flow from his pen at ninety-plus
  • The masterpieces just keep coming!
  • spectacular works from Elliott Carter!
  • Dialogues repeats the success of the much ealier Piano Conce
  • Late Carter at its best
 The Music of Elliott Carter Vol. 7; Boston Concerto, Cello Concerto, ASKO Concerto, Dialogues

Manufacturer: Bridge Records; Inc.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by CarterAll Works by Carter | Carter, Elliott | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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Similar Items:
  1. The Music of Elliott Carter, Vol. 6
  2. The Music of Elliott Carter, Volume Five - Nine Compositions (1994-2002)
  3. Elliott Carter: The Complete music for Piano
  4. Elliot Carter: String Quartets 1-4; Elegy
  5. Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Three Occasions

ASIN: B000C6NO6E
Release Date: 2005-11-15

Tracks:

  1. Dialogues
  2. Boston Concerto
  3. Boston Concerto
  4. Boston Concerto
  5. Boston Concerto
  6. Boston Concerto
  7. Boston Concerto
  8. Boston Concerto
  9. Boston Concerto
  10. Boston Concerto
  11. Boston Concerto
  12. Boston Concerto
  13. Boston Concerto
  14. Boston Concerto
  15. Cello Concerto
  16. Cello Concerto
  17. Cello Concerto
  18. Cello Concerto
  19. Cello Concerto
  20. Cello Concerto
  21. Cello Concerto
  22. ASKO Concerto

Product Description

This highly anticipated recording, a Bridge co-production with the BBC, presents first recordings of four major Elliott Carter compositions, all composed within the past six years. Conducted by the distinguished British conductor, Oliver Knussen, these recordings tell the amazing tale of an American composer, well into his nineties, composing at the peak of his powers. Malcolm McDonald writes that “Carter is not far short of his own centenary, and continuing to produce highly complex, sophisticated scores with an energy that would hardly be conceivable even in a much younger man.” The composer traveled to London and Amsterdam to oversee the performance and recording of these four works. Dialogues for piano and chamber orchestra was a BBC Radio 3 commission for the brilliant young British pianist Nicolas Hodges and is scored for piano solo and a chamber orchestra comprising 18 instruments. Carter writes that “Dialogues is a conversation between the soloist and the orchestra: responding to each other, sometimes interrupting one another or arguing.” Hodges, Knussen and the London Sinfonietta give a reading of electrifying intensity. Boston Concerto was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and is based on a William Carlos Williams poem, “Rain”, a verse chosen to convey the composer’s enduring love for his wife Helen, the dedicatee of Boston Concerto. Describing the diaphanous textures of this work, Bayan Northcott writes of Boston Concerto that “despite occasional deep sonorities, the whole work has a kind of distanced lightness, seeming to hover in mid air.” Carter’s Cello Concerto is a twenty minute span introduced by the soloist alone, playing a cantilena that presents ideas later to be expanded into a series of linked movements. The concerto is played by long-time colleague and valued Carter interpreter Fred Sherry who, during the composition of the work, consulted with Carter about the finer details of the cello writing. Scored for a large orchestra that frequently plays with intimately drawn orchestral textures, the Cello Concerto was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was first performed by the CSO with Yo Yo Ma, cello soloist and Daniel Barenboim, conductor. Carter completed the concise 12 minute Asko Concerto in January 2000 to a commission from the Asko Ensemble of Amsterdam and the recording on this disc is of its first performance in the Concertgebouw on April 26 of that year. The composer writes: “Although the music is in light-hearted mood, each soloistic section approaches ensemble playing in a different spirit.” Bridge has also just issued Volume Six of this series which features Rolf Schulte’s performance of Carter’s Violin Concerto (BRIDGE 9177).

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Some of the Carter's best works flow from his pen at ninety-plus.......2007-07-05

It's amazing enough that Elliott Carter is still composing at nearly a hundred--the works here were all written after his ninetieth birthday--and to his usual standards to boot, but what is even more remarkable is that these recent works a great deal of artistic evolution. Carter has been consistently "mellowing" since his brash music of the 1960s, but these four pieces show a new interest in smaller proportions, where the instrumentalists generally chat instead of shout, though Carter's language with its sharp atonalities and interest in polymetric slitherings remains the same. Oliver Knussen leads various ensembles, and the soloists are the composer's choice musicians.

The first piece on this disc, "Dialogues" for piano and chamber orchestra (2003) is a good example of this new style. Carter's Piano Concerto of 1965 was a monster of a piece where, in a nod to the dire situation in East Germany the composer heard about while writing the concerto in Berlin, the piano (the individual) is beaten down by the orchestra (the mob, or the state). In "Dialogues", on the other hand, the mood is conversational instead of confrontational. The piano part here is just as virtuosic as in the old concerto, and the dedicatee Nicholas Hodges gives a fine performance.

Two works here are for ensemble without soloists. In the "Boston Concerto" for full orchestra (2002), each portion of the orchestra performs in turn, rarely talking over each other. I find Carter's Concerto for Orchestra from the 1960s to be something of a failure, since it doesn't truly show off the sonorities of the ensemble in a virtuosic fashion, but the composer more than makes up for it here. A lush passage of woodwinds and pitched percussion is especially memorable, one of the most simply beautiful things he's ever written, but in no way compromising on his traditional line of writing.

The "ASKO Concerto" (2000), written for the small ensemble of that name, is also something of a concerto for orchestra, It's got a light and airy feel too, with downright humourous moments, but for most of its length a strong dramatic feel prevails. Portions of the orchestra clash, and it gets pretty close to the old aggressive Carter. This is the second recording, but the first where the ASKO Ensemble actually performs, as the world premiere recording on ECM has different players led by Peter Eotvos. I find both performances satisfactory, but as the ECM disc couples this concerto with Carter's controversial opera "What's Next?", this disc might be a more satisfactory purchase.

The Cello Concerto is also reminiscent of the Carter of yore, as the orchestra rains blows upon the solo line at times. However, for much of the piece the cello sounds alone, and it turns out to be some of the most straightforward music Carter has ever written, certainly the answer to critics who claim he's all about noise and brouhaha. The concerto was written for Yo-Yo Ma, but Fred Sherry performs here. Sherry played the drafts for Carter while the composer was writing the piece (see them at work on the Labyrinth of Time documentary DVD), and I find him an all-around more interesting performer of contemporary music than Yo-Yo Ma, so I welcome his presence here.

This disc would make a fine introduction to Carter's music, though those looking for a budget presentation could instead choose the Ars Nova disc with the Piano Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra (bad-boy 1960s Carter) or the Warner Apex disc with works starting from the late 1970s (the first mellower period). Still, fans of the composer should certainly pick this disc up sooner or later, along with the other discs in Bridge's Carter series. Bridge is doing fans a great series with this edition, and it's a pity that it doesn't get as much attention as the complete Ligeti edition or DG's Boulez discs.

5 out of 5 stars The masterpieces just keep coming!.......2006-02-24

All of these works, written between 2000 and 2003, are superb additions to Carter's flawless string of masterpieces. In fact Carter's "late period" may be his most fertile and beautiful of all. Of course, as we know, Carter was something of a "late bloomer", as he did not begin to produce works in his "mature style" (beginning with his String Quartet No. 1) until he was in his mid-40's. From that point he produced his complex music slowly (by neccessity) but as he has aged he has produced more and more great music, including short incidental chamber and solo works. The works on this superb CD are among his best ever. It is great to see an icon of 20th-century modernism bring his distinctive style intact into the 21st century. Don't wait for Yo Yo Ma to record the Cello Concerto...Fred Sherry's reading is matchless, understandable considering his long-standing association with Carter. Knussen brings all his intellectual rigor and warmth of soul to these works, imbueing them with color and vigor. The recording by Bridge is perfectly crystal clear and perfectly balanced.

5 out of 5 stars spectacular works from Elliott Carter!.......2006-02-13

Easily the record of the year 2005 in contemporary classical, this latest Bridge release presents four of Elliott Carter's latest compositions in superb performances and recordings. Another recording of the "ASKO Concerto" (2000 -- 10'38") was previously released on ECM along with the opera "What Next?" (see my review), but this is actually the first recording, a recording of the live premiere by the ASKO Ensemble on 4/26/00 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The other three works are also premiere recordings, but never before heard -- the piano concerto "Dialogues" (2003 -- 13'28"), the "Cello Concerto" (2001 -- 20'06"), and the "Boston Concerto" (2002 -- 16'54"). Nicolas Hodges plays piano, Fred Sherry plays cello, and Oliver Knussen conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta and the ASKO Ensemble.

Excellent liner notes by Bayan Northcott provide insight into the works' contents. The booklet includes a great painting for the cover by Pavel Tchelitchew, apparently from Elliott Carter's collection, and several photos, including two of the composer and his late wife Helen to whom the "Boston Concerto" is dedicated. These are magnificent pieces at the highest level of sustained imagination, wit, and craft. This music of Elliott Carter makes no concessions to popular sensibilities, but it has the elegance, balance, drive and sparkle of Mozart.

Viva la Carter! Happy 97th!

4 out of 5 stars Dialogues repeats the success of the much ealier Piano Conce.......2006-01-16

Among the Carter blockbusters the Piano Concerto (1967)is one of the undoubted triumphs as was clearly evident in the recent retrospective held in London.Many decades on and it's once again the same form which shows Carter to best advantage.The compact 'Dialogues' (a mini piano concerto)is composed in the familiar rebarbative musical language but there's an urgency to the invention and even an joyfulness which immediately excites the senses. Nicholas Hodges is on brilliant form and Knussen exudes a tremendous sense of authority in Carter's music.

5 out of 5 stars Late Carter at its best.......2006-01-01

Elliott Carter's compositional career has already lasted far beyond what anyone could have expected, with works still flowing from his pen at the age of 97. This disc confirms the composer's continued late success; all four works on it date from the composer's nineties and three of them are previously unrecorded.

Dialogues, for piano and small chamber orchestra, is one of those works whose titles does describe the musical content very effectively. Starting (and ending) with the soloist playing unaccompanied, the music moves through a series of contrasting moods and colors, sometimes piano alone, sometimes orchestra alone, sometimes both playing together (or against each other). What stays with this listener, though, is not the structure of the work, but its rhythmic and harmonic vibrancy and its range of color.

Both the Boston Concerto (for full orchestra) and the ASKO Concerto (for fifteen instruments) share an overall design which has become common in Carter's recent work--a kind of concerto grosso where ever-shortening tuttis alternate with contrasting passages for subsections of the ensemble. The ASKO Concerto is a playful piece indeed--particularly in the bassoon solo that precedes the final, brief tutti--but it is the Boston Concerto that is the major work of these two. Here, pitter-pattering tuttis that evoke the sounds of rain alternate with lyrical and dramatic episodes--and in the slower episodes some of Carter's most emotive and lyrical writing (in passages such as the Boston Concerto's string cantilenas I see a clear parallel between late Carter and the lyrical side of late Lutoslawski). Certainly, I'd have no hesitation in regarding the Boston Concerto as one of the two finest Carter works since Symphonia (and it shares a sense of weightlessness with the latter work's finale).

The other work I'd rank up with the Boston Concerto is the Cello Concerto, even if it is by some way the hardest piece to get into here. It shares some of the abrasive nature of the concertos of the 1960s, even if the scoring is much lighter and, as in most of Carter's recent concertos, the soloist plays almost continuously. Here, in complete contrast to Carter's 1960s concertos, the orchestral parts are often extremely simple (though sometimes explosive in nature), while the soloist winds its way through an impassioned monologue ranging from lyricism to ferocity through icy cold sonorities and almost jazzy rhythms, eventually reaching a ferocious climax before sputtering out in a whimsical passage for the soloist alone.

The performances here are excellent--Oliver Knussen has known Carter's music for decades and it shows, while the BBC Symphony, London Sinfonietta and ASKO Ensemble are all effortlessly adept in this repertoire. Nicolas Hodges and Fred Sherry are excellent soloists and where there is competition (in the ASKO Concerto) I would say Knussen's performance trumps the earlier reading.

This is a disc every Carter fan probably already owns, but those who don't will need no encouragement to snap it up. Meanwhile, those wondering what the fuss is about could do a lot worse than start here.
Elliott Carter: A Symphony of Three Orchestras; Varèse: Deserts; Ecuatorial; Hyperprism
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • I love this CD!
  • fantastic Carter and Varese, strangely combined
  • Mixed Varese, but excellent Carter
  • What, you would prefer a 30 minute CD
  • next to "essential Varèse" - irrelevant coupling
 Elliott Carter: A Symphony of Three Orchestras; Varèse: Deserts; Ecuatorial; Hyperprism

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Elliott Carter: Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpsichord; Sonata for Cello & Piano; Double Concerto for Harpsichor
  2. Elliot Carter: String Quartets 1-4; Elegy
  3. Elliott Carter: Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei (1993-96) / Clarinet Concerto (1996) (20/21 series) - Oliver Knussen
  4. Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Three Occasions
  5. The Music of Elliott Carter Vol. 7; Boston Concerto, Cello Concerto, ASKO Concerto, Dialogues

ASIN: B000002C05
Release Date: 1995-12-05

Tracks:

  1. A Symphony of Three Orchestras
  2. Deserts
  3. Ecuatorial
  4. Hyperprism

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars I love this CD!.......2007-05-15

I have owned this CD for years. It's definitely one of my favorite compilation CDs of modern classical music. The Carter symphony is a masterpiece.

5 out of 5 stars fantastic Carter and Varese, strangely combined.......2005-08-06

Though the combination of Carter and Varese is odd, I can't see giving this disc, part of the superb Sony PIERRE BOULEZ series, anything less than 5 stars. It is the only available recording of Carter's "Symphony for Three Orchestras" (1976 -- 15'41), and the Varese is uniformly excellent as well. It strikes me as simultaneously bizarre and marvelous that Carter's work, which was written to celebrate the American Bicentennial, with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, was commissioned by Pierre Boulez! Boulez was then the conductor of the New York Philharmonic. The piece is based on Hart Crane's poem "The Bridge." It is a tragic vision of America, and the music begins in the highest registers, and descends until, with a series of violent crashes, it ends in the lowest registers with tuba and double bass.

The "Symphony" does not actually feature three orchestras -- it's not in competition with Stockhausen's "Gruppen." Carter divides the orchestra into three groups, and each group plays four movements, so the result is 12 overlapping movements in all. The recording of the NYP is from 2/22/77, and who better than Boulez to produce a crystal-clear rendering of this teeming complexity! There is only one thing that I would change, and that is that the piece is too short.

Here's a fantastic quote from Carter from the liner notes: "I do not want to give the impression of a simultaneous motion in which everybody's part is coordinated like a goose step. I do not want to write the kind of music that just marches on and marches off. I want it to seem like a crowd of people, or like waves on the sea -- all things that signify a much more fluid, and, to me, more human way of living."

There is an entire disc of Varese in this series, and so what is included here is really Part II -- the lead composition in the other disc (Part I) is "Arcana" (see my review). This material is just as good, and while some complain that Boulez left the electronics out of "Deserts," I say enjoy it as is -- if you didn't know about the electronics, you'd think it sounded great, which it does.

4 out of 5 stars Mixed Varese, but excellent Carter.......2003-12-04

This disc fills up the remaining vocal and instrumental works that were not included on the first reissue of Boulez conducting music by the French-born American modernist Edgard Varese. Since these three works only add up to just over half an hour, Sony have added the 16-minute A Symphony of Three Orchestra, written for Pierre Boulez to conduct by that doyen of American modernism, Elliott Carter.

Deserts was one of Varese's last works (only succeded by the Poeme electronique and the unfinished Nocturnal). The brass and wind (along with typically Varesian percussion eruptions) dominate the sonorities here, conjuring up bleak open chords in a largely slow-moving texture. This work doesn't have the energy or dynamism of Ameriques or Arcana, and is rather less of an essential listen, particularly when (as he also does in his DG remake) Boulez chooses, for some reason best known to himself, to omit the electronic interludes for two-track tape, which--while crude in technical terms--are arguably the most dynamic and exciting parts of the work.

More impressive is Ecuatorial, a work for male chorus and a small orchestra including organ and two ondes martenots, based on a Mayan prayer. This conjures up a powerful ritualistic atmosphere, which is only intensified by the chant-like singing of the voices.

Last of the Varese works is Hyperprism, a four minute Futurist extravaganza in miniature. The work begins with trumpets intoning repeated notes against a backdrop of massed percussion (including sirens and lion's roar). A brief flute melody leads to a more complex chordal section, before the trumpets return to end the piece. This is a great piece, witty, provocative and sonically intriguing.

Carter's A Symphony of Three Orchestras is as complex as you'd expect in 1970s Carter. The orchestra is divided into three groups, each of which simultaneously play four movements of music--though these movements do not overlap, every clashing interaction between them is carefully calculated, and there is no aleatory writing. The work starts high in the treble, and gradually descends into the bass (thus reversing the usual dramatic profile of such a work). It's an extraordinarily imaginative sixteen minutes, with some great treble writing at first, a wonderful trumpet solo which starts off the descent and some incredibly complex passages in the central section that lead into a ferocious climactic set of chords. The work ends with the same material as at the start, though now in the bass instead of the treble--uneasily, it sounds completely different.

This is a good collection overall, even if it has only fifty minutes of music on it. The performances are excellent--Boulez is an expert in these works--but the omission of the electronic sections in Deserts is a major demerit. For this reason I would recommend that those in search of the Varese look for the rival Chailly recording; those wishing the Carter have no easily available alternative recording to consider (and even if there were a rival performance, it would have to be very good to beat this one).

3 out of 5 stars What, you would prefer a 30 minute CD.......2000-01-12

Sony had already released the lion's share of their Boulez Varese on a previous CD and this was all that was left. So the choice was an extremely short CD or a coupling by a different composer. I don't find that odd in and of itself. I must admit that I do not enjoy the Symphony nearly as much as the first two reviewers (and I am a big Carter fan), and find these the least interesting of the Varese works, so would not recommend this CD to someone just coming to either composer. For completists, it will be essential however.

4 out of 5 stars next to "essential Varèse" - irrelevant coupling.......1999-12-22

Indeed, Carter's Symphony for Three Orchestra is spectacular. In brief, this is a most sophisticate and organized work. However it is to a large extent irrelevant to include it in a CD which is basically a tribute to Varese. Varese was a visionnary of sound; Carter domesticated it.

I assume Carter's Symphony is just a filler. Sony had already re-edited an essential-Varese-by-Boulez", with numbers such as "Ameriques", "Ionisation", "Integrale"... earlier and more adventurous pieces.

Boulez, as usual, extricate the essence of 20th century masterpieces.
Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Three Occasions
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Amazing performance of an extremely difficult piece
  • Two interesting but thoroughly ugly concertos, followed by a display of colour
  • Ugly Ugliness
  • A classic Carter recording reissued
  • worth having for the piano concerto-one of EC's best pieces
 Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Three Occasions

Manufacturer: Arte Nova Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. The Music of Elliott Carter Vol. 7; Boston Concerto, Cello Concerto, ASKO Concerto, Dialogues
  2. Elliot Carter: String Quartets 1-4; Elegy
  3. Elliott Carter: The Complete music for Piano
  4. Elliott Carter: Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpsichord; Sonata for Cello & Piano; Double Concerto for Harpsichor
  5. Elliott Carter: Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei (1993-96) / Clarinet Concerto (1996) (20/21 series) - Oliver Knussen

ASIN: B0009ML2N8
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Tracks:

  1. I
  2. II
  3. Concerto For Orchestra
  4. A Celebration Of 100 x 150 Notes
  5. Remembrance
  6. Anniversary

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Amazing performance of an extremely difficult piece.......2007-03-01

I cannot understate the difficulty of the Piano Concerto by Carter which by all measures is difficult. It sways back and forth like the tides of the ocean. The opening is rivetting with its intense rhythmicity.

3 out of 5 stars Two interesting but thoroughly ugly concertos, followed by a display of colour.......2006-10-25

I discovered the ever-controversial composer Elliott Carter through his recent works like the "Symphonia" and the Cello Concerto. "What's the big deal," I thought, "he's no more out there than Lutoslawski or Lindberg, so why the public rage against him?" Well, on this Arte Nova release, a reissue of a 1992 disc, I got an answer. Michael Gielen leads the SWF Symphony Orchestra, with Ursula Oppens as piano soloist.

The two-movement "Piano Concerto" (1964-1965) is notable for its overt dramatic arc. The piano is a lone individual against the orchestral mob, and their interaction is violent. The piano is surrounded by a small ensemble of seven players who seem to support the piano, but are ultimately false comforters to the piano's Job, as Carter puts it. This form has been used successfully in Lutoslawski's cello concerto and Schnittke's viola concerto, and here it holds interest. And as ever, there are delightful experiments with varying rhythms. But there's a major problem with Carter here: his music is totally void of colour. I listen exclusively to modern repertoire, so I've no fear of the atonal, but you'd think an orchestra has more sonorities to offer then the same drab thumps that characterize this piece.

The same problem plagues the single-movement "Concerto for Orchestra" (1969). Still, one can admire the virtuosity present in the writing of all orchestral parts, and the way in which the spotlight is passed from each of the four instrumental groups to another is somewhat elegant. But in addition to Carter's monochromatic palette, the recording of these first two pieces is not ideal, it sounds as if the entire orchestra were playing inside a clown car.

With the "Three Occasions for Orchestra" (1986-1989), Carter has mellowed, and colour is definitely present. These three pieces were composed at different times and merely collected together for convenience. The first, "A Celebration of 100 x 150 Notes" was writen for the Houston Symphony to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Texas. It's a fanfare lasting exactly 150 bars that, for has its uncomprising modernism, has some downright charming writing for brass. "Remembrace" was written as a memorial for Paul Fromm, its sad expanses foretell the middle movement of his "Symphonia". "Anniversary" was written on the occasion of his fiftieth wedding anniversary to his wife Helen Carter, it's an airy piece, though feels somewhat fluffy and insubstantial after a few listens.

The disc comes with liner notes amounting to two pages. These lack any analysis of the pieces, giving instead mere context on when they were written. For more in-depth coverage of the music, I'd recommend David Schiff's THE MUSIC OF ELLIOTT CARTER (Cornell University Press, 1998).

For listening for mere idle pleasure, the recent Carter serves much better. These pieces here have some fascinating rhythmic and programmatic features, which does provide a reason to buy the disc for Carter fans, but the two concertos are pretty ugly music.

1 out of 5 stars Ugly Ugliness.......2006-06-23

and dull....there are pieces that are Beautiful Ugly like Beethoven's Grosse Fugue or Varese's Arcana - but the music on this CD is just Ugly Ugly - Carter knows instruments, but his palette is soooooooooooooooo dull - this is the Concerto for Orchestra - to describe the work as busy music would be an understatement - only the beginning and end of a Carter work is mildly ear-catching - in between you have an unsustainable music - this is no exception - and with a lot of music after WW2, the more organized a work is on paper, the more chaotic it seems when heard - no exception there, either - the Concerto for Orchestra is a work which a dedicated conductor and orchestra should perform without anyone actually hearing it -

Some have mentioned how Carter differentiates musics by using specific instruments and intervals - so what? and what about the resulting music? The Piano Concerto uses the soloist and a chamber group to distinguish itself from the rest of the orchestra - ah yes, if they were in two different cities, perhaps - The most interesting thing about the Piano Concerto for me, aside from its two-movement form (borrowing from Berg's fiddle concerto), is the ugliest bass clarinet solo ever conceived this side of a mouthpiece - a more hideous creation could not be immagined -

The Three Occasions is good if you drop the last two, which leaves you One - at just over three minutes, it has somes nice fifths, which would be appropriate for a fanfare (except for the blips at the end) - Less is more -



5 out of 5 stars A classic Carter recording reissued.......2006-03-04

This budget-price recording, featuring two Elliott Carter specialists, the pianist Ursula Oppens and the conductor Michael Gielen, has long been a highlight of the composer's discography. Now reissued in rather more attractive packaging, it remains an essential disc for those who know and love Carter's highly complex, densely atonal music.

The 1965 Piano Concerto is one of the composer's most difficult--yet most rewarding--pieces. It's written in two movements, and to add to the complexity of the music, there's a small sub-orchestra that acts as an intermediary between the soloist and the full orchestra. (No wonder that Carter now says he could never again write works like the Piano Concerto--they'd just take up too much time.) It's a highly dramatic work, with the piano constantly at odds with the orchestra, and the sub-orchestra attempting to bring about some kind of rapprochement between the soloist and orchestra. In the end, this fails, and in a truly terrifying climax the pounding drums finally silence the soloist--only for her to start up again in a slow, quiet coda.

Of the three recordings--all very good--that I've heard of this concerto, this is the strongest. Mark Wait's on Naxos lacks the truly apocalyptic resonances of the climax, and Oppens' earlier New World recording, to my mind, operates on a slightly lower level of tension than the present reading.

The Concerto for Orchestra was written soon after the Piano Concerto, and is a similarly dramatic work, if slightly less fierce. It has an openly literary program, being inspired by St John Perse's poem "Vents," which depicts the destruction and renewal of America through violent windstorms. After an opening tutti, the work evokes the winds of the four seasons by focusing on a different section of the orchestra for each season, before reaching a violent climax and fading away.

Of the easily available rivals to this recording, Oliver Knussen's recording with the London Sinfonietta is the most competitive. It features somewhat better playing and clearer detail, though it doesn't quite have the dramatic sweep of the present recording. Leonard Bernstein's Sony recording, while dramatic, disqualifies itself as a first choice through the many inaccuracies in the playing.

The disc closes with a less ambitious, more recent piece, the Three Occasions for Orchestra. Compared to the two earlier works, this one shows the slimming down of style that has been prominent in Carter's work over the last 20 years, to my mind, with mixed results--though the textures are clearer, more joyous, something of the dramatic sweep and intensity has been lost. The work begins with a complex fanfare, continues with a bleak elegy and concludes with a celebratory last movement. While not major Carter, it can perhaps be considered significant as it forms a sort of miniature prototype of his key 1990s work, Symphonia.

Knussen's London Sinfonietta recording is, again, the competitor here. It is technically superior, but I find Gielen has a warmth that Knussen doesn't quite match.

Overall, this is an essential disc for any Carter enthusiast, though, due to the highly complex nature of the two concertos, it may not be the ideal place for a newcomer to start (I'd still direct such people to the Elektra Nonesuch disc of the Double Concerto, the Cello Sonata and the Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord).

3 out of 5 stars worth having for the piano concerto-one of EC's best pieces.......2005-09-26

The Piano concerto is one of Carter's finest achievements.
Initially, seeming like the hermetic norm one assosciates with this composer it slowly emerges as a piece with a real sense of passion and fantasy.On this rare occasion unleashed from his Nadia Boulanger heritage,there's something very likeable about the way the piano weaves it's way through an unwieldy orchestral mass.The melodic writing(most notably a bass clarinet solo)is also surprisingly engaging.A bleak piece-composed in Berlin amidst the height Cold War tensions-but strangely compelling.

Concerto for Orchestra remains a tough nut to crack.Maybe i need to hear the Knussen recording but it's hard to fathom the continuity and allure of this piece.It seems to have been composed by the page,without the fierce sense of urgency which are the hallmarks of equally dense orchestral works of Xenakis and Stockhausen.
Still,there are interesting features.Most notably,the way in which the orchestral piano almost takes on a heroic,soloistic role.

The three occasions might veer slightly in the direction of dryness but atleast no.1 has a splendidly visceral climax 1.5 minutes in! Rather dreary trombone line in no.2,but things improve in no.3 where Lulu-like string lines are accompanied by spasmodic yet urgent ticking motifs.
Romances & Elegies for Viola & Piano
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Songs for Winter Solstice
  • Sensitive Playing
 Romances & Elegies for Viola & Piano

Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by BrittenAll Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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  1. Brahms: Sonatas for Viola and Piano / Kashkashian, Levin
  2. A Portrait of the Viola
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  5. Six Cello Suites performed on viola

ASIN: B0000261H6
Release Date: 2000-04-18

Tracks:

  1. Lacrymae op.48
  2. Romance
  3. Elegy
  4. Elegie op. 44
  5. Romance oubliee
  6. Adagio
  7. Elegie op.30

Amazon.com

This elegiac music seems very well-suited to the dark sound of the viola. Kashkashian plays it simply and very expressively, without slides or sentimentality; glowing and shimmering, her tone is pure, warm, inflected. The program has great variety. Britten's mournful Lachrymae (Reflections on a Song of John Dowland) comes to an agitated climax and ends with an old chorale. Vaughan Williams's Romance is a peaceful pastoral; Carter's Elegy is somber, gentle, and hardly dissonant; Glasunov's Elegy is very romantic. Liszt's Romance is very rhetorical--half recitation, half lamentation--but ends serenely. Kodály's Adagio, solemn and inward, comes to a passionate climax; the opening returns in the highest register. Vieuxtemps's romantic virtuoso piece has musical substance as well as passion, rhetoric, a big climax, and a wild, brilliant ending. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Songs for Winter Solstice.......2005-12-21

Perhaps none of the composers of this lovely set of works for viola and piano had in mind the death theme surrounding the winter solstice, the end of the season of growing, a time for pause and even sleep to prepare for the rumblings of rebirth, but that is what comes to mind while listening to this very well chosen collection of elegies.

Violist Kim Kashkashian and pianist Robert Levin seem extensions of each other, so well melded are these performances. While most will be familiar with the gorgeous Benjamin Britten 'Lachrymae, reflections on a song of Dowland', there are enough unfamiliar works to spark even the most experienced listener. Some highlights are the Vaughn Williams 'Romance', the Adagio of Zoltan Kodaly, and the Vieuxtemps 'Elegie'. The spectrum even manages to include Elliot Carter's 'Elegy' so you can rest assured there is a wide spread of periods and oddly enough they all create a cohesive program.

Kashkashian's tone is never forced, always refined, and never pushing towards heart on the sleeve. This is a beautiful recording, especially for winter nights. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

5 out of 5 stars Sensitive Playing.......2000-09-01

I was pleased to see this recording By Kim Kashkashian. The interplay between the viola and the piano is exceptional and it is clear these two performers have a fine sense of the music. The typical ECM recording excellence adds to this effect. This is twentieth century and somber music. The warmth of Kashkashian's viola makes this recording the perfect match for a fine bordeaux and a quiet evening of listening.
Elliott Carter: Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpsichord; Sonata for Cello & Piano; Double Concerto for Harpsichor
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • like listening to barbed wire (double concerto)very good(cello sonata)
  • 3 Carter masterpieces
  • A good place to start with Carter
  • An outstanding introduction to a contemporary music giant
  • The Essential Elliott Carter
 Elliott Carter: Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpsichord; Sonata for Cello & Piano; Double Concerto for Harpsichor

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by CarterAll Works by Carter | Carter, Elliott | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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  1. Elliott Carter: The Complete music for Piano
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  5. Elliott Carter: A Symphony of Three Orchestras; Varèse: Deserts; Ecuatorial; Hyperprism

ASIN: B000005IZ1
Release Date: 1992-03-24

Tracks:

  1. Sonata For Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpischord: Risoluto
  2. Sonata For Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpischord: Lento
  3. Sonata For Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpischord: Allegro
  4. SONATA FOR CELLO & PIANO: Moderato
  5. SONATA FOR CELLO & PIANO: Vivace, molto leggiero
  6. SONATA FOR CELLO & PIANO: Adagio
  7. SONATA FOR CELLO & PIANO: Allegro
  8. Double Concerto For Harpischord & Piano With Two Chamber Orchestras: Introduction
  9. Double Concerto For Harpischord & Piano With Two Chamber Orchestras: Cadenza For Harpischord
  10. Double Concerto For Harpischord & Piano With Two Chamber Orchestras: Allegro scherzando
  11. Double Concerto For Harpischord & Piano With Two Chamber Orchestras: Adagio
  12. Double Concerto For Harpischord & Piano With Two Chamber Orchestras: Presto
  13. Double Concerto For Harpischord & Piano With Two Chamber Orchestras: Cadenzas For Piano
  14. Double Concerto For Harpischord & Piano With Two Chamber Orchestras: Coda

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars like listening to barbed wire (double concerto)very good(cello sonata).......2005-10-08

The Double Concerto begins promisingly enough with mysterious percussion rustlings from which string tremelos emerge,soon echoed by the solo piano and harpsichord.All this has undoubted poetry but it has to be said,returning to the piece after some ten years that grasping the whole is pretty tricky and the climactic moments (track14!) are somewhat akin to listening to barbed wire.For all Carter's harmonic formulations(or perhaps because of) the pitch content often sounds rather lifeless,it's as if there's no centre of any kind.Yes,the various skitterings of the two soloists are enjoyable but i can't imagine this piece ever being taken up in a big way.
The cello sonata is the best piece on the disc.The rhetoric is more conventional than the concerto,even neo-classical and Carter is on much more sure territory here:There's a fantastic jazz-like swing to the second movement and the opening moderato with the mechanical ticking on the piano accompanying the passionate cello is one of Carter's most inspired creations.

5 out of 5 stars 3 Carter masterpieces.......2005-10-01

The Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord is immediately appealing. Carter's signature complex crossrhythms are present but they are delightfully airy and not at all forbidding. This is an excellent place to start your exploration of Carter's vast and imaginative work. The Cello Sonata is also quite accessible . It's a big and exciting piece. The Double Concerto is another matter! It took me many listenings before I really started enjoying it but it was worth the effort. These performances are thrilling.

5 out of 5 stars A good place to start with Carter.......2004-05-17

Carter is considered to be perhaps the greatest living composer, and I didn't know any of his music, so after browsing the internet (and in particular,Amazon) for a place to start, I obtained this CD. I have been delighted with it. All of this music takes some acclimation, but that's the nice thing about a CD--you can stick a CD of new music in the car stereo and play it as often as you need to until it starts to reveal its treasures. In the case of this CD, all three works are rich in complexity and have required quite a bit of listening, but the effort was well worth it--two of the three works have revealed lots of treasures. The Cello Sonata is full of wonderful, even magical moments. The Sonata for Flute, Oboe... has been only slightly less rewarding. I like its playfulness. The only work on this disc that has proved resistant so far is the Double Concerto. Carter's unique twist on tonality that makes the other works so interesting seems to have disappeared in the Double Concerto, written later in his career, and I haven't found much to like in it. But the CD is worth obtaining for the two sonatas. They are great works.

5 out of 5 stars An outstanding introduction to a contemporary music giant.......2004-01-11

This disc collects three classic performances of major works from Elliott Carter's early maturity. The two sonatas date from the end of Carter's period of neo-classical writing, at a point where his music had started to achieve its trademark rhythmic complexity, though the harmonic and melodic writing is less dense than it was to become, and still largely tonal. In contrast, the concerto is a classic example of the hyper-complex, dense atonality that was to characterise the composer's mid-period works.

The Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord was written in 1952 and combines the neo-classical style Carter had learned so well from Nadia Boulanger with an increasing density and complexity of rhythm. (The composer, in his helpful inlay notes, observes that the work owes something to Debussy, and that is certainly true.) The sonata is in three movements: the first a rather ambiguous Risoluto, the second a slow movement with more vigorous undercurrents that briefly break through in a scherzando passage towards the end, and the finale a sequence of vigorous dances that sometimes overlap. This performance features four legendary figures in the performance of contemporary American music, and is the finest I've heard.

Equally fine is the rendition of the Cello Sonata by Joel Krosnick (ex-Juilliard Quartet) and Paul Jacobs. This four-movement work has always struck me as the finest of Carter's tonal works and the ideal introduction to the composer. Its opening movement counterpoints intense, lyrical melody in the cello against regular percussive rhythms and jazzy chords in the piano. The second movement is a jazz-inflected scherzo, with the cello solo's notes often failing to coincide with those of the more rhythmically regular piano part. The third movement is an intense, rhythmically complex slow recitative for the cello and the finale a vigorous rondo that ends by returning to the music of the first movement, only with the instrumental roles reversed.

The hyper-complex, atonal Double Concerto for Harpsichord and Piano with Two Chamber Orchestras, written between 1959 and 1961, is a very different work. A single-movement structure, conveniently separated into seven tracks on this recording, it begins with a percussive outburst that leads into an introductory section with musical exchanges between the two antiphonally divided ensembles that gradually grow in complexity. This is followed by a vigorous cadenza for the solo harpsichord and then a lively scherzo that is dominated by the sound of the piano and its accompanying ensemble. The music then gradually slows to a near halt for an elegiac section whose mood is only temporarily broken by a vigorous duet for piano and harpsichord. There then follows a brief presto, dominated by the harpsichord and its associated ensemble, a series of interrupted cadenzas for the piano and a coda in which the music disintegrates in a process similar to that of the introduction, only in reverse. This is music that takes some time to get to know, but it is unquestionably worth the effort.

This disc is the ideal introduction to Carter's music. The Cello Sonata is the most accessible of all Carter's major works, and should appeal to almost everyone, and while the Double Concerto is less accessible, hearing it in the context of the works that lead up to it is the best way to understand it. Given that this recording contains an outstanding selection of works, presented in performances that have stood the test of time, it merits the highest possible level of recommendation to Carter fanatics and newcomers alike.

5 out of 5 stars The Essential Elliott Carter.......2001-02-18

Carter has been composing so much good music over the last decade that it's easy to forget he was writing classics before many of us were born. The pieces on this disk are a case in point--two generations of musicians have grown up since the earliest of them, the Cello Sonata, appeared in 1948. The sonata has been recorded probably more often than any other of Carter's works. New performances are appearing almost every day, but it's hard to see how they can better Joel Krosnick's warm, fluent interpretation. The rendition of the Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello, and Harpsichord is the best of several available--exuberant, dancelike, unbuttoned--and the performance of the Double Concerto is the only one available at present. That would scandal if the playing weren't so supple and sensitive. This disk is essential Carter: three masterpieces, each from a different decade, and each one a milestone in the composer's development. It is the one CD I would recommend to anyone approaching Carter's mature work for the first time.
The Music of Elliott Carter, Vol. 6
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		The Music of Elliott Carter, Vol. 6

    Manufacturer: Bridge Records, Inc.
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    All Works by CarterAll Works by Carter | Carter, Elliott | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
    OverturesOvertures | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
    ViolinViolin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
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    ASIN: B000BDH57M
    Release Date: 2005-10-01

    Tracks:

    1. Violin Concerto - Impulsivo
    2. Violin Concerto - Tranquillo/Angosciato
    3. Violin Concerto - Scherzando
    4. Four Lauds - Statement - Remembering Aaron
    5. Four Lauds - Riconoscenza per Goffredo Petrassi
    6. Four Lauds - Rhapsodic Musings
    7. Four Lauds - Fantasy - Remembering Roger
    8. Holiday Overture

    Product Description

    In celebration of Elliott Carter’s 97th birthday, Bridge Records is proud to be issuing Volume Six of its Elliott Carter Edition. This series of recordings has garnered high critical praise including three Grammy nominations, BBC Music Magazine’s “Best of the Year”and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Prize. Volume Six features violin virtuoso Rolf Schulte’s highly anticipated recording of Carter’s Violin Concerto, and listeners will surely be thrilled by his electrifying performance. Schulte, in a spectacularly gripping account of Carter’s masterpiece, gives us state-of-the-art violin playing, and British conductor Justin Brown leads the Odense Symphony Orchestra of Denmark in a reading that captures the detailed and panoramic emotional range of this score. Schulte then steps into the spotlight with a superb account of Carter’s collection of violin solos- Four Lauds. Rolf Schulte was the dedicatee of the final movement of this set, “Fantasy- Remembering Roger” (1999! ), and his performance here takes up where his Violin Concerto reading leaves off. What ultimately makes Schulte’s readings of Carter’s music so exceptionally satisfying is his complete mastery of the technical aspects of this music. Schulte’s playing is so assured and deeply committed that he has the rare ability to transcend the music’s surface difficulties, and reveal its humanistic emotional core. Volume Six concludes with a performance of Carter’s early Holiday Overture, a brassy and celebratory composition that heralded the end of World War II and led to the beginning of Carter’s mature style. Notes by British musicologist Malcolm McDonald, and a number of rare photographs of the composer complete this disc.
    Elliott Carter: Symphony No. 1; Piano Concerto
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • A slice of authentic Americana
    • An Introduction to Elliott Carter
    • Nashville Symphony does it again
    		 Elliott Carter: Symphony No. 1; Piano Concerto

    Manufacturer: Naxos American
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    All Works by CarterAll Works by Carter | Carter, Elliott | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
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    SymphoniesSymphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    PianoPiano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
    Modern & 20th CenturyModern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
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    ASIN: B00019P6PO
    Release Date: 2004-03-16

    Tracks:

    1. Holiday Overture (1944 Rev. 1961)
    2. Moderately, Wistfully
    3. Slowly, Gravely
    4. Vivaciously
    5. I
    6. II

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars A slice of authentic Americana.......2006-01-25

    If Elliott Carter is not America's greatest living composer, he is its greatest living statesman in classical music. This CD traverses a relatively slight period in the composer's nearly 100 years and uses the included compositions as bookends on the growing midsection of the composer.

    Both the "Holiday Overture" and Symphony No. 1 were composed during World War II and later revised. Neither bears the authentic stamp of this composer and, rather, bears the voice of his mentor, Charles Ives, along with other Americans of the era.

    The meatier symphony begins allegro marked "Moderately, wistfully" and includes echoes of Schuman, Piston and Copland. It closes its 10 minutes with an endearing clarinet solo. The central section, marked "Slowly, gravely" seems to me more a lento on woodwind and string themes. It closes "Vivaciously" with quite vivacious Coplandesque dotted timpani.

    The Piano Concerto, which dates from the mid-1960s, is typical of American and European atonal music written in that era. If you've ever listened to the music from the 1971 film, "Planet of the Apes", or the early Warren Beatty feature film, "Mickey One", you have an idea what to expect.

    I liken the piano concerto to the first half-dozen symphonies of the German composer Hans Werne Henze for their dense themes, loud clangs of orchestral dissonance, followed by extremely thin thematic material in the strings. It also reminds me of the underpinnings of Schoenberg's "Pierrot lunaire" which, with Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", is credited as being the first piece of "modern" music.

    The CD is a worthwhile investment for collectors and listeners that want a slice of Carter going from nondescript to descript. I don't find the music exceptional and believe the amassed forces have done good but hardly outstanding work on this CD, which is up to Naxos' typical standard for sound and production values.

    5 out of 5 stars An Introduction to Elliott Carter.......2005-07-07

    This CD, part of the Naxos "American Classics" series will serve as a good introduction to the music of Elliott Carter (b. 1908) one of the most prominent and difficult of modern American composers.

    As an adolescent, Carter met the great American composer Charles Ives who encouraged the fledgling composer. But Carter evolved as a composer very slowly and did not develop his own unique voice until the early 1950s. He has continued to compose and to develop well into his 90s.

    This budget-priced CD with the late Kenneth Schermerhorn (d. April 18,2005) conducting the Nashville Symphony Orchestra allows a rare opportunity for the listener to explore Carter's development by presenting two early works together with Carter's difficult piano concerto, composed in 1964-1965.

    The two early works are the short Holiday Overture (1944, revised in 1961) and the Symphony No. 1 (1942, revised 1954). These works are tonal and accessible -- perhaps excessively conservative even for their time. They show the influence of Aaron Copland and of an early Charles Ives without the fireworks.

    The Holiday Overture was composed in 1944. It is a fanfare celebrating the liberation of France in WW II. It is uptempo, brassy, and uplifting with strong rhythm and a sense of optimisim. Aaron Copland, who greatly admired Carter's later, difficult scores, remarked tounge-in-cheek late in his life that the Holiday Overture was "another difficult piece by Carter."

    The Symphony No. 1 is a quiet, pastoral piece somewhat in the manner of Ives's second symphony. It is in three movements and features nicely balanced writing between the strings and the winds and shifting rhythms that became a later characteristic of Carter's music.

    I found the Holiday Overture and the Symphony pleasant if somewhat bland. But in the hearing them, I understood that Carter had not yet found his musical voice which he developed only in 1951 with his first string quartet. The piano concerto, dedicated to Igor Stravinsky, is a difficult bristling modern composition, atonal and dissonant in style with shifting complex rhythms and the many musical voices frequently working at cross-purposes with each other. Yet, with all its difficulty, this is the type of music that made, and justly so, Carter's reputation. The two early pieces heard on this CD have value primarily as a foil to this later work. With the development of his modernist style, Carter played to his strengths and wrote music that was uniquely his own.

    The piano concerto is in two movements of approximately equal length. The piano part is juxtaposed not only against the orchestra, as in a traditional concerto, but in a small concertante ensemble consisting, according to the informative liner notes, of flute, English horn, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Each of these instruments has short solo or ensemble passages in which it plays with the orchestra. The first movement opens with a piano solo followed by various combinations of the piano and the concertante group with the orchestra in the background. In the second movement, I think, the procedure is reversed with the orchestra playing a dominant role early in the movement and developing it as the movement progresses until the concertante group and the piano take over at the quiet close of the piece. The lines in the piece are generally short with the various instruments playing against each other. The most sustained passages are in the loud orchestral outbursts in the second movement. Rhythmic shifts are frequent and the music is atonal. This is a difficult, challenging piece, but I found it rewarding. Mark Wait, Dean and Professor of Music at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, plays admirably this extraordinarily difficult piano music.

    This concerto is tough, uncompromising and bristling modern music but it is full of emotional power. At a time when he had already reached mid-life, Carter saw the need to channel his talents in a new direction and to leave the rather conventional paths his music had followed in his early years. His path was full of risk and uncertainty. But he has produced music that is modern, unique, and his own.

    This CD -- in the contrast between the two early works and the later piano concerto -- reminded me of the difference between following convention and striking out for oneself. Carter certainly made the right choice when he pursued the latter course.

    Robin Friedman

    5 out of 5 stars Nashville Symphony does it again.......2004-12-09

    Nashville Symphony releases another outstanding disc (two 2005 Grammy nominations--including album of the year)! Amazon should really have put the name of the orchestra in the main heading for this listing, as they are becoming more and more prominent--they are the most recorded orchestra in America in the last 5 years, as well as having the most CD sales of any American orchestra.

    Kenneth Schermerhorn delivers solid performances of these rarely recorded works from Carter's early and later periods. The Symphony and Holiday Overture are from his early tonal period, and really deserve to be played more often. (This is only the second recording of the Holiday Overture.)

    The fiendishly difficult Piano Concerto is from Carter's later period, with all of his trademark metric modulations and atonality. The real fascination here is listening to soloist Mark Wait (up for a Grammy) mastering the unbelievably difficult solo part (how many piano soloists would be willing to spend the amount of time needed to play this work?).

    All the accolades and honors are well deserved.
    Elliott Carter: Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei (1993-96) / Clarinet Concerto (1996) (20/21 series) - Oliver Knussen
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • A massive orchestral piece coupled with a spritely concerto, both skillfully written
    • Great Performance - Excellent Piece
    • gradus ad parnassum
    • Overrated and frankly Unmusical
    • Carter: A performer's music
    		 Elliott Carter: Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei (1993-96) / Clarinet Concerto (1996) (20/21 series) - Oliver Knussen
    Elliott Carter , Oliver Knussen , Michael Collins , London Sinfonietta , and BBC Symphony Orchestra
    Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    Similar Items:
    1. The Music of Elliott Carter Vol. 7; Boston Concerto, Cello Concerto, ASKO Concerto, Dialogues
    2. Elliott Carter: The Complete music for Piano
    3. Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Three Occasions
    4. Elliott Carter: A Symphony of Three Orchestras; Varèse: Deserts; Ecuatorial; Hyperprism
    5. Elliott Carter: Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpsichord; Sonata for Cello & Piano; Double Concerto for Harpsichor

    ASIN: B00000JSAJ
    Release Date: 2000-01-11

    Tracks:

    1. Clarinet Concerto: Scherzando
    2. Clarinet Concerto: Deciso
    3. Clarinet Concerto: Tranquillo
    4. Clarinet Concerto: Presto
    5. Clarinet Concerto: Largo
    6. Clarinet Concerto: Giocoso
    7. Clarinet Concerto: Agitato
    8. Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei: I. Partita
    9. Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei: II. Adagio tenebroso
    10. Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei: III. Allegro scorrevole

    Amazon.com

    Composed by Elliott Carter at the ripe old age of 84 and debuted in 1998 (a time when the composer was more prolific than ever), Symphonia could be one of the contemporary music maverick's grandest works to date. In about 45 minutes, the piece--inspired by the 17th-century poem Bulla by Richard Crenshaw--sonically mimics an airborne bubble, bouncing from one environment to the next until--you guessed it--it's gone for good. The opening movement, Partita, swings between atmospheric string passages and sharp clusters of percussion and brass. The second, Adagio tenebroso, is a melancholy cauldron (and the composition's darkest moment), and Allegro scorrevole, the finale, is where the composer pulls out all the stops and creates even more sharp contrasts, which gradually make the bubble (one can assume) explode. Even in its atonal and ragged state, there's a gorgeous poetry at work here. 1996's Clarinet Concerto is an added bonus, a composition where the lone clarinet part threads its way through various instrumentations (and themes), creating an unexpected, but delightful ending. Throughout these atmospheric and challenging works, the London Sinfonietta and the BBC Symphony Orchestra deliver remarkable performances. A great pairing of world premieres. --Jason Verlinde

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars A massive orchestral piece coupled with a spritely concerto, both skillfully written.......2006-08-28

    This Deutsche Grammophon disc, an installment of the "20/21" series of contemporary music recordings, contains two works by the great American modernist Elliott Carter which he embarked upon well into his 80s. Oliver Knussen leads the London Sinfonietta and clarinettist Michael Collins in the concerto, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the "Symphonia".

    Carter's music is controversial, as a glimpse at reviews here would reveal, but I found the works here far from harsh and abrasive. Most of the soundworld isn't too different from that of well-regarded figures like Lutoslawski or the early Lindberg. While it's understandable that fans of earlier eras of art music would find Carter not their cup of tea, there's nothing here that should evoke a violent reaction. It's certain tuneful; for fans of contemporary music, there's a lot of truly catchy material here that will stay with you long after the disc comes to an end.

    So what's Carter's approach? He is fascinated by the idea of polytempos where two lines start off at the same pace, but eventually one appears the slower and the other the faster. The liner notes compare it to seeing two pendulums start off swinging, but one winds down before the other. This is a concept of great possibilities which gives the music many angles from which to view the action. If one wants to hear a less uncomprimisingly modernist use of the technique, I could recommend Per Norgard's "Concerto in due tempi" (on a Chandos disc with his masterpiece Symphony No. 3), but if this piques your interest, Elliott Carter's music is very much worth hearing.

    The massive "Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei" (1993-1996) is Carter's largest orchestral work, loosely based on Richard Crashaw's poem "Bulla" where artistic inspiration is compared to a bubble. "I am the prize of flowing hope." As he began work on the piece when was 85 years old, he wasn't sure he would live to complete it, and so he wrote its three sections for independent commissions before finally tying them all together. The opening "Partita" is, as its title indicates, playful where various portions of the orchestra contend in sport. Here various themes appear again and again, but they're never quite repeated. The second movement, "Adagio tenebroso", is like night to the first movement's day. A dark series of brooding landscapes, some have seen in this movement a meditation on all of the 20th century's horrors. The final "Allegro scorrevole" returns us to sunnier territory, with a general wispiness and scintillating percussion, something like a more unhinged version of Ligeti's "Melodien". Carter's orchestral writing is exciting, as he really explores all possibilities of the ensemble, just listen to the big chord that opens up "Symphonia", played on both extremely low registers and the very highest.

    The "Clarinet Concerto" (1996) introduces, of course, a soloist, but it also displays a new concept in Carter's use of the orchestra: breaking it up into small, semi-autonomous units. Here the players are organized on the stage into six individual groups, such as piano, harp, and pitched percussion in one, unpitched percussion in another, and so forth. The first six movements of the concerto highlight each of these groups in turn, making for an intimate feel and a shifting series of partners in conversation for the soloist. The clarinet writing is often light, airy, and fleet-footed, a strong contrast to an orchestra that can't quite move so freely.

    The liner notes are excellent. They contain the full text of Crashaw's poem "Bulla" in its original Latin and in translation, a description of the pieces by critic Bayan Northcott, and some remarks by Oliver Knussen that sketch Carter's biography and general aesthetic. All in all, this is a very entertaining disc for fans of modernism.

    4 out of 5 stars Great Performance - Excellent Piece.......2006-06-08

    I enjoyed Symphonia very much and I am getting hooked to listening to it again and again. The Clarinet Concerto was not too bad and perhaps my only complaint is the recording. There are certain moments when I wish I can hear more of the solo instrument but it is overpowered by the orchestra. If that was a harp concerto, I wouldn't say a word, but an instrument of such a vigorous dynamic control shouldn't be overpowered that easily.

    All in all, I am very happy with my CD and will listen to it on and on!

    Danny

    5 out of 5 stars gradus ad parnassum.......2006-05-26

    The Symphonia is pure music at its most pure...in short: words fail. Carter, along with other contemporary composers of what is unfortunately termed atonal music (with this pejorative is the built in but incorrect assumption that consonance and dissonance are not bound by period and by cultural factors) is often criticized for writing alienating mathematical music (don't even get me started about the notion that math and music are one in the same. It simply isn't true). And this music IS complex, but it is also most rewarding. It wants a patient listener. It wants a listener without expectations about what music "should be like". Such a listener will, with familiarity, find a unique and a real beauty. He will discover, in fact, the Sublime.

    1 out of 5 stars Overrated and frankly Unmusical.......2006-05-09

    I have studied modern composition and have learned the hard fact that Carter's music might be good for an analysis class but it's just NOT musical.Surely that is what is important.
    I am baffled he is so highly rated-the general public this time are right in not liking it.Carter's music is actually very unmusical and also plain dull as a previous reviewer said.He is highly skilled at orchestation but so what.I am no great fan of atonal music but Ives(who he admires)at least was very MUSICAL-Carter is not.
    How does he expect the public to like it when even composition students don't get it(Babbitt and Stockhausen are even more extreme examples of music turning into a scientific exercise).It's no wonder contemporary music concerts are low in numbers when they're doing this stuff-I would'nt go and I have studied it!!
    It's about time he and others like Babbitt(don't tell me that is good music!),Stockhausen,and Maxwell Davies are finally seen for what they are and not put on a pedestal by major orchestras-very clever note manipulators who just ain't musical.Stravinsky was a clever note manipulator BUT was always naturally musical-even in his serial music.

    3 out of 5 stars Carter: A performer's music.......2005-06-29

    As a composer I have respect for Carter's music: his meticulous rendering of notation, his seeing through a musical vision and committing it to paper, his challenging a performer's idea of ensemble and rendition. But I don't like the music much, either live or on recording. In a live performance it's stimulating to watch a performer's committment to a work of Carter's; and if the work is an ensemble piece, to watch and hear the performers managing the complex musical lines governed by an invisible pulse. Unfortunately, the visable is lost on a recording. But either way, the resulting harmony for me is dull. The musical intervals are dull. Carter is the least sensual of composers because his harmony is rarely felt vertically. In lieu of a 'sound' palette within a complete chromatic spectrum - the stressing of pure sound over pitches to compensate for the lack of tonality - the pitches themselves become all-important. These pitches and the strands of musics and conflicting tempi are the sound of Carter. Harmony is fragmentary, often uneventful.

    Another problem I have with Carter's music is his ability to sustain these musical events, or musical discourses, with little recourse to repetition. There is a strong philosophical bent to his music. The simultaneity of events in Time, the rapidity of events, the slowness of events, the different human characteristics in Time - all of this is reflected in his music. But there is repetition in life as well. Repetition is avoided in much of Carter, leaving the listener in a perpetual state of anxiousness. With so much information going on simultaneously, so much musical interest moving constantly forward, the music tends to cancel itself out. A dullness sets in. (In the music of Ives, a tremendous influence on Carter, one can hear different tempi of melodic strands and rhythms occuring simultaneously, but one or two are often recognizable by musical quotation of familiar tunes, or tunes that feel familiar.) Perhaps music is not the most appropriate media for such philosophical musings.

    As for the disc in question, I am not entirely convinced that the Symphony works as a whole. Apparently the movements were composed independently of each other, with the intention of uniting them later. One can hear an attempt at harmonic and rhythmic cross-referencing between the movements, but the impression is half-bait. More successful is the diverse character of the movements themselves: The first muscular and energetic, the second slow and somber, the third light and quick. But undermining this is a tendency for each movement to reach it's musical climax near the end, increasing the suspicion that the movements were originally thought of as independent works. (After favoring the idea of the one-movement form in his instrumental works for decades, Carter has returned to the varied movement form since the late 80's.)

    The Concerto for Clarinet is more successful in that the varied movements are tied together as a whole. The clarinet part is virtuosic, impovisational, with an air of jazz about it.

    All of the performances are, I'm sure, exemplary. Oliver Knussen, the conductor, is a well-known admirer of Carter.

    In the end, I feel that Carter's music appeals more to the performer than to the listener. He has said himself that the perfomer or performers are utmost in his mind. I am sure that there are listeners fascinated by his music for purely musical reasons; but many, if they had to hear it, would rather 'see' it performed live, or not at all.
    Elliott Carter: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • vital 20th century chamber works.
    • some new things to discover from the old
    • Cf
    		 Elliott Carter: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2

    Manufacturer: Nonesuch
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    QuartetsQuartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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    All Works by CarterAll Works by Carter | Carter, Elliott | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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    Similar Items:
    1. Elliott Carter: Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpsichord; Sonata for Cello & Piano; Double Concerto for Harpsichor
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    3. Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Three Occasions
    4. The Music of Elliott Carter Vol. 7; Boston Concerto, Cello Concerto, ASKO Concerto, Dialogues
    5. Elliott Carter: Symphonia: Sum Fluxae Pretium Spei (1993-96) / Clarinet Concerto (1996) (20/21 series) - Oliver Knussen

    ASIN: B000005IVL
    Release Date: 1992-05-07

    Tracks:

    1. String Quartet No. 1: Fantasia: Maestoso - Allegro scorrevole
    2. String Quartet No. 1: Allegro scorrevole - Adagio
    3. String Quartet No. 1: Variations
    4. String Quartet No. 2: Introduction
    5. String Quartet No. 2: (I) Allegro Fantastico
    6. String Quartet No. 2: Cadenza For Viola
    7. String Quartet No. 2: (II) Presto scherzando
    8. String Quartet No. 2: Cadenza For Cello
    9. String Quartet No. 2: (III) Andante Espressivo
    10. String Quartet No. 2: Cadenza For First Violin
    11. String Quartet No. 2: (IV) Allegro
    12. String Quartet No. 2: Conclusion

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars vital 20th century chamber works........2005-03-23

    Elliott Carter's first two string quartets are modernist manifestos, works that combine a penetrating comprehension of the format with beautifully articulated avant-garde concepts.

    This is the only recording of these works in print, I believe. One of the few, at least. The Composers Quartet ensures that anyone introduced to Carter's quartets by this recording with not be disappointed (unless they are dull). These are excellent performances (the recordings were done under Carter's supervision) and the price is good, so apart from the obvious allure of it being perhaps the only in-print performances of these works, it has other advantages. Both compositions demand the highest level of intellectual and technical virtuosity, levels beyond most ensembles, but this group wields the material powerfully. The recording quality is pretty good, although less sharp than the Julliard Quartet's release of Carter's first four quartets (which is unfortunately OOP). However, compared to that release, the CQ's performance of quartet no.1 is substantially better and faster, with keener rhythms and delineation of texture.

    Regarding these works themselves, they are some of the greatest quartets of the era. I only like a few other 20th century quartets more than Carter's first and third. The first quartet on this recording are based on Carter's ideas of metrical modulation, the rhythmic characteristics of each instrument's parts manipulated independently. It is a fantastic work, and it demands much from both performer and listener. The Pulitzer prize-winning second quartet is a formidable work in which each of the four instruments is played with different parameters. The musical gestures unfold in a series of confrontations and ordered coordination, with main movements bridged by mini-concerto-like cadenzas for viola, cello, and violin. Here too Carter employs mad rhythmic complexity, as in the first, although it is given much different context. It's brilliantly original and ineffably dramatic.

    Highly recommended!

    5 out of 5 stars some new things to discover from the old.......2005-02-01

    Very curious listening again returning to this one of the first recordings, (there is another from University of Illinois Urbana) but this one has, still retains many profound qualities for music no one had ever heard, I mean put yourself back into the late Sixties when you first perhaps heard the First Quartet, and how much can you truthfully say you comprehended,understood with some degree of conviction. The opponent here I guess is the Arditti readings, although those were part of their first USA Tour, the late Eighties,so the readings were somewhat tenuous,and not "risk-taking" as we would find today, and as we usually find within the Arditti language of interpretative visions. They are a bit cold,all that modernity does that to ones constitution; matter-a-fact playing most of the time,almost "flip-a-switch" motion ostinato.So this makes their Carter all the more compelling, for overly emotional simply doesn't work.The Juilliard Quartet find a nice balance between intellect and the heart or the gut, the testasterone part engaged.But I've heard Brahmsian detritus,rotundities from the Carter Quintets, one with Strings and Piano another with Winds and Piano.( Mr. Barenboim is the culpret, too much Wagner,Bruckner and Strauss in his interpretive diet.) Here though on this CD there are some fine desolate places, threadbare,abandoned that was an important part to what we can refer to as "post-early" Carter, beyond his "Pochantas Days". I certainly like the sul ponticello this group gets, marvelously placed in this First Quartet. There may be too much "image", too much wanting to find a narrative, or some programmatic element to help weed and make comprehensible all this desolate,thorny,strident music together. The First Quartet in retrospect now is really surface bound, no deep mysteries anymore, the individual part role playing, the music materials assigned to specific players,(Violins sclaes, the cello points of punctuation, the viola anti-rhythmic threes and fives) at specific times and places, inhabiting their own musical lanaguage, and the infamous "metric modulation" "old hat" now today, is there anything more simpler in concept than this?. There is also a grittiness to the overall sound here, I don't know if that is the state of technical in-expertise of the times or the real playing, I suspect a little of both. This makes one admire this recording,and these musicians for the players hear retain, take into themselves Carter's deep vision of this First Quartet. The Second Quartet as well, more classical in shape in motion, less extroverted and less everything, less expansive, almost like Carter was "shell-shocked" by what he did/accomplished in the First Quartet.You may come to prefer this recording to all others, as you listen. It finds an emotive place someplace between the cold and abstract and the more comprehensible romantic surface that Carter never seems to quite lift his aesthetic from, even his octagenarian solos, and "Night Fantasies" spring from the unforgotten past of nostalgia and reverance for that which can never be.

    5 out of 5 stars Cf.......2000-04-19

    A fine performance. For many flattering words on this recording, check out the reviews for the Julliard Quartet box set of the 4 Carter 4tets.
    Elliott Carter: Piano Works
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Elliott Carter: Piano Works

      Manufacturer: L'empreinte Digitale
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

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      ASIN: B00008Q022
      Release Date: 2003-09-30

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