Birthday greetings to Elliott Carter on his 102nd
Elliott Carter, the dean of contemporary American music celebrates his 102nd birthday on Saturday, Dec. 11. He has already composed several pieces since turning 100, so there's every hope he will keep producing more.
For some listeners, Carter represents all that is frightening, inexplicable and unacceptable in modern music; for others, he represents all that is challenging, brilliant and absorbing. There's no question about the difficulty of Carter's art. I'd say there's no question about its high value, too. The composer's atonal language, at once cerebral and vibrant, achieves an expressive power that can reach out and grab you in many surprising ways.
It remains absurd that so little of Carter's work turns up here in Baltimore, but maybe that will change. Meanwhile, let me offer you these
two short piano compositions from 1999 and 2006 by way of demonstrating Carter's uncommon imagination and saluting his 102th birthday:
Comments
Carter remains, for me, one of those incredibly overhyped composers whose inspiration comes (if at all) only in the tiniest spurts. I think he will just continue to decline in esteem. There are so many composers out there who are better, and even some of them don't last.
I think Carter got by on pretension, and not much else. It also seems to me that many people in our cultural climate pretend to an enthusiasm in his music that they don’t actually feel.
Posted by: Matthew Valenti | December 11, 2010 10:10 AM
Dear Tim,
Thanks for posting this -- amazing, isn't it? Worth remembering that he spent a few years teaching at Peabody, 1946-48! In fact, check out the stationery for these sketches of his cello sonata:
http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200155639/default.html
The Evolution Series plans to feature some of his shorter pieces this season or next.
Best,
Judah
Posted by: Judah Adashi | December 11, 2010 9:37 PM
Mr. Valenti,
It is good practice to try to understand why others like something before criticizing them. A little empathy can go a long way. Stating that they must all be lying merely makes you look foolish at best, insincere at worst.
Posted by: Chaim Gogol | December 13, 2010 9:24 AM
"102th" should be "102nd".
Glad to see someone is paying attention out there. I could explain that particular faux pas, but it would make me look even sillier than I do now. Thanks for alerting me. I've corrected the entry. TIM
Posted by: Matthew Wilcox | December 13, 2010 8:47 PM