The Uncompromising Elliott Carter

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This was requested by Opera, Christoffer Håård, Lynn David Newton, Charlie powell, Thomas Misson, Ethan Blackburn, LOOCH THEMOOCH, AJV Amballa, Tyson Davis, and ChrisW. See all requests at lentovivace.com/classicalnerd....
📚 Sources/further reading:
“Carter” by David Schiff (Oxford University Press, 2018)
“The Music of Elliott Carter” by David Schiff (Second edition, Cornell University Press, 1998)
“Elliot Carter: Collected Essays and Lectures, 1937-1995,” edited by Jonathan W. Bernard (University of Rochester Press, 1997)
“Long-Range Polyrhythms in Elliott Carter’s Recent Music” by John F. Link (PhD Dissertation, City University of New York, 1994): www.johnlinkmusic.com/JohnLink...
“The Composition of Elliott Carter's Night Fantasies” by John F. Link: johnlinkmusic.com/JohnLinkSonu...
“A Listener-Sensitive Analytic Approach to Elliott Carter’s Late Chamber Music” by Peter Christian Wyse Smucker (PhD Dissertation, University of Chicago, 2015)
“Aspects of Motion in Elliott Carter’s Second String Quartet” by Tiina Koivisto (Intégral: The Journal of Applied Musical Thought, 1996): www.esm.rochester.edu/integra...
“An Analytical Study of Elliott Carter’s Piano Sonata” by Jane E. Gormley Perkyns (DMA Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1990)
“A Multifaceted Approach to Analyzing Form in Elliott Carter’s Boston Concerto” by Alan Theisen (PhD Dissertation, Florida State University, 2010): diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandor...
“Multi-Layered Construction of Elliott Carter’s Violin Concerto, First Movement” by Jonghee Kang (PhD Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, 2015): d-scholarship.pitt.edu/24859/1...
“The Later Music of Elliott Carter” by David I. H. Harvey (PhD Thesis, Worcester College, Oxford, 1986): www.semanticscholar.org/paper...
“At the Edge of Creation: Elliot Carter’s Sketches in the Library of Congress” by Stephen Soderberg
“Elliott Carter’s March: An Applicable Analysis” by Troy W. Palmer (BA Thesis, Western Kentucky University, 2015): core.ac.uk/download/pdf/43649...
• Elliott Carter on stud...
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Classical Nerd is a video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
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Music:
- Elliott Carter: Concerto for Orchestra (1969), performed by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Pierre Boulez [original upload: c3JEGuUd6SI]
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
- Elliott Carter: Piano Sonata (1947), performed by John Anderson [free recording courtesy pianosociety.com]
- Tyson Davis: String Quartet #1 (2017), performed by the Attacca Quartet [original upload: utBqGfuur9M]
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Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
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All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information.

[@anthonycook6213]

Excellent! In 1977 I attended a concert of Carter's music (I was already a fan), and almost fainted at intermission when I recognized him in the seat behind mine (his presence had not been announced). He seemed to be delighted to be recognized, and asked me what records of his I had. When I mentioned one on the Columbia label, he said "you know, I only made 25 cents on each copy of that record. Without a beat, I said, I know, Columbia told me I'd have to see you about getting that part of my money back." Fortunately, he forgave my dumb joke and signed my program!

[@peters9744]

😄.

[@gwydionrhys7672]

This man lived to the age of 103. It's almost impossible to imagine the musical changes he witnessed during his lifetime...

[@calamari3707]

As always these are criminally under-watched for the amount of work that is undoubtedly put in. I see you. I recognize what you are doing. I appreciate it a lot.

[@peters9744]

Fully agree with calamari. The sheer amount of work you put in and your excellence encourages one to struggle to be better.

[@FeonaLeeJones]

I was never a big fan of Elliot Carter but I do have a bigger appreciation knowing his life story and why he went in the route he did as a composer. Mucho respect.

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

This a very well done video that highlights the complex mental game playing that many composers in the 20th century explored. In a sense, they ended up writing music that suited their technology but completely ignore the musical and emotional needs of the audience. Very often modernity was more important than memorable. When all is said and done, he did have an avuncular smile.

[@robertwalker2052]

What interests me is the huge rift which occurs in 1951, when Carter moved to Tucson, Arizona. His first work was the String Quartet No.. 1. It was a leap ahead, yet seemingly it happened overnight. He has written that he was inspired by the flora and fauna of Arizona.

[@charleslyall5857]

I was a student at Glasgow University in the 80’s when he was over for Musica Nova. Great music……Concerto for Orchestra and Double Concerto, Variations for Orchestra are all masterpieces.

[@adamletman4661]

Thomas your videos are honestly unbelievable, I recommend them to all my students because you condense information so well without missing out crucial details and making it boring. You have an exceptional talent, thank you from Liverpool!

[@renesrelics]

🍻

[@Twentythousandlps]

From the documentaries I have seen on Carter, he seems to have been one of the most cheerfull of men. Happily married!

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

I'm vastly more knowledgeable in 53 minutes about Elliot Carter than I ever was before. I have to admit that Carter is way down my list of American composers I turn to. I have 15 of his works in my 26,000 piece collection. On the strength of your video, I shall now revisit him and start again. Thank you so much for this, my mind will rewind and can now start afresh.

[@annakimborahpa]

With so much of Elliot Carter's earlier career lived out under the shadow of Charles Ives, it is as if he had contracted hives and then managed the disease's infection. For example, whereas Carter's original perception of Ives' Concord Sonata was that of sour grapes, over the years the fermentation of its influence altered his taste for it and as a result his own vintage issue for the piano breathed a similar bouquet.

[@ProfessorPille]

The rumor about the day of rehearsal for the first bars of the Third Quartet is true, and it's a funny story. I'll elaborate later when I have more time.

[@jameswalker4704]

Thank you for your work. The more I learn of music, the more things i need to learn! I'm a huge fan of Carters Piano Sonata currently. Thanks too for your interview of David Schiff. I was lucky enough to take a music history class from him.

[@jordanmayberry4510]

Never really thought he made that many "masterworks", but his music is still the most exciting and extreme while also having a childlike playfulness, a style that really defines the American compositional identity. When I studied the entire Carter catalogue, I can easily say that I had the most fun listening to recordings of his work more than any other.

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Think the world of you! One item, as 19 year old student in 70's, you may want to know. Boulanger insisted every student be able to write in numerous clefs (my bete noire) and complete exercises in Traite de Harmonie by Theodore Dybois. Not exactly 16th century or Fux, but Conservatoire de rigeur to trap Ivy League graduates with lack of knowledge of 4 part writing. PS i was not a grad from aforementioned institutions. Love your concise analysis. Best thing on tube

[@LynnDavidNewton]

Outstanding. I didn't realize this video was out there and had been hoping to see an extended Carter lecture from this channel. I've been a Carter fan since I heard his first string quartet in high school (and thereafter went to University of Illinois, where I got to know all of the musicians in the Walden Quartet that made the first recording). I even had one lesson with Carter in about 1965. He did not seem impressed, but I didn't expect him to be able to deal with what I was doing on the basis of one meeting. I was more gobsmacked just to meet him.

[@IFStravinsky]

I've loved Carter's music for years, and have even written and given a talk about it (with emphasis on his relationship to Ives), but I still learned a lot from this video. BTW, Night Fantasies was not Carter's last piece for solo piano. He wrote quite a few in his later years, though admittedly they were miniatures. And he never had anything bad to say about Mozart or Stravinsky, either.

[@NoMoreMrNiceGuyNYC]

Great lecture. I wish my classes at conservatory had been even half as interesting.

[@ClassicalNerd]

I've heard from a number of educators about their use of these videos in classes (and I'm sure there are plenty more besides who never reach out). So things are changing on that front!

[@jslasher1]

A fine and well researched video on the life of Elliott Carter. I am a fan of his early, simpler works, particularly the first symphony. If it sounds like warmed-over Copland, so be it. Anyway, Carter's voice shines through.

Another great upload! :D

[@asa.pankeiki]

YES FINALLY! THANK YOU!

[@uroparopa]

Thank you for this!

[@udomatthiasdrums5322]

love his work!!

[@MrEdmundHarris]

Superb, as always!

[@paulbasler3827]

This was fantastic Thomas! Thank you for these marvelous videos. Most impressive!

[@matthiasdesmet1801]

This video totally made my day, week, month... Keep up the good work!

[@diegofustes790]

this channel is a mine of gold. thank you

[@Danielpi]

This is phenomenal

[@nimagachpaz]

I can only wish that i could tell you how much i enjoyed your video and how happy i am that i found your channel. thank you so much for creating these videos.

[@user-jn6ol9fz9i]

So happy that this talk randomly popped up in my feed. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I have been fascinated by Carter for years, but I despair of ever seeing a live performance,,,though I get why that is. Anyhow, thanks for this talk. So well researched and well presented (not at all dry). When I return to the music, I'll have a better idea of how to approach it. I look forward to seeing the other talks in the series.

[@onlykarlhenning]

Enjoyed this v. much!

[@mohammaddimassi1596]

Sublime!! A tip on how to get myself familiar with all these figures you listed is greatly appreciated!! Don’t stop making these videos!

[@davidwhite2949]

Very stimulating discussion, thanks.

[@cantatanoir6850]

This video is really well done! I have found some details about Carter and his music that I've never encountered before. Even though I have searched the internet with analysis of his music many times.

[@ClassicalNerd]

Happy to announce that I will be interviewing composer, author, and Carter pupil *David Schiff* (author of my two primary sources for this video) on the channel soon! While anyone can submit a question, only $10+ Patrons [ www.patreon.com/classicalnerd ] will be guaranteed to have their questions answered. Speaking of patrons, after this video was produced, new patron *Courge Musquée* joined up-welcome!

[@koumousii]

thank you

[@p.f.luxenberg3881]

😮The detail. ❤

[@gillesquentel3549]

Brilliant. Everything is so clear and well explained, thank you !

[@BrianJosephMorgan]

Bravo.

[@irabraus9478]

A great intro to EC, but don't leave out his delicious Symphony No.1!

[@srothbardt]

He was one of the greatest

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

Amazing work, a really great video! Thank you!

[@alicehyoungpiano]

omg hi!! hhaha this is so random i just found your comment on this video

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

@@alicehyoungpiano haha that is so funny :D

[@anthonycook6213]

Much of Carter's music, some of it with scores, can be found on KZbin. One of his later pieces is a short work for solo harp that I think most people will find attractive.

[@antjamnow1286]

Loved this! Watched the whole thing. Solid content is what I've been craving to listen to - and hey, when can we hear some of your compositions? Eager to listen to new music.

[@ClassicalNerd]

All relevant links can be found branching off of lentovivace.com/ . Unfortunately, my compositions don't have one "home" per se; performers have a ton of say over how and where recordings of their efforts may be published. What I can put on Bandcamp is on Bandcamp, what I can put on my personal KZbin is on there, but some of my best recordings can't be published anywhere. It's quite frustrating ...

[@nonretrogradable]

Greatly appreciate your efforts to put this together. Just discovered your channel and will now sub. I’m a bit Carter fan though most of the time I’m not sure ‘why’. I am collecting his scores - have all major works from piano sonata through Night Fantasies, and I have the book by Schiff which has aided in my understanding a bit. Would love to hear you do a deep dive into the ways he uses the all interval chords

[@ClassicalNerd]

I'm sure you will enjoy my interview with Schiff, if you haven't discovered it already!

[@matthewfairclough456]

I am new and i am grateful for the work you have put in to inform the public of these great composers. I do have a request which I can only imagine you have many. William Grant Still is a composer I put forth to you in doing a segment. Thank you for your time

[@ClassicalNerd]

Duly noted: lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html

[@neo-eclesiastul9386]

I swear I am dabbing anytime you mention Ives in your videos. I still expect his shrine's reveal video :))

[@ClassicalNerd]

The shrine is just the collection of Ives books on the corner of the shelf. I've looked for a bust, though ...

[@neo-eclesiastul9386]

@@ClassicalNerd any chance to find that Ives' bust?

[@RayleneSteves]

You should do a “Elliot Carter albums ranked” video

[@gomro]

I discovered the Classical Nerd videos completely by accident, and they're great. May I request one on Grazyna Bacewicz? I see certain other favorites -- Carlos Chavez, Krzysztof Penderecki, Karel Husa -- are already in the queue, but I didn't see Bacewicz either there or in the list of already completed videos.

[@ClassicalNerd]

Bacewicz has been added, as have votes for Chávez, Penderecki, and Husa.

[@OdinComposer]

Neat. Would be cool to see a video about Charles Wuorinen, who was inspired by Carter. I think more people should know about his music!

[@ClassicalNerd]

Duly noted: lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html

[@alexscott1257]

The 12 tone chord at 33.24 doesn't have all 12 tones in it there are 2 E naturals but no E flat/D sharp! The highest E should be flat.

[@BeauJames59]

Good job Nerd, digging in, deeply I might add, to Elliot Carter. No mean feat.

[@minnesotamonk]

It would be helpful to have spaces in this video with music that it pertinent to what you're saying. I hear music in the background, but it was undecipherable. Nonetheless, for this amateur viewer, some very fascinating history...

[@ClassicalNerd]

Almost all of Carter's music is under copyright that would get this video yanked off of KZbin in a heartbeat.

[@MrInterestingthings]

Carter is my favorite American composer . The piano sonata and Night Music and the impossible orchestral music . He loves to use this word scorrevole ! Set theory I really need to research . There seem to be many more types of set theory now . "Coherence and Structure " that the listener rarely can decipher I'd say . Goldman's metric modulation (I must found out what this is ? Classical Nerd has his books in alphabetical order so Ornstein is not with HenryCowell,Copland ,Bernstein,Ellington , Gershwin, Ives and Carter . How can he afford these 100$ hard -cover books . He has an encyclopedic knowledge of many composers . Fascinating man . Can we see , hear his/your compositions ?

[@ClassicalNerd]

The book collection has grown over many years, and a little under half of the books that are visible on the set actually belong to my roommate! But nonetheless, the money I get from patrons and advertising revenue funds these purchases. As for my music, no one spot has it all; my personal KZbin channel [ kzbin.info/door/vFenVZ0tMMhaEmbu1gSG4g ] has some, as does my Bandcamp page [ lentovivace.bandcamp.com/ ]. It's all about what I can legally sell, or what I've gotten around to uploading with the scores.

[@MrInterestingthings]

@@ClassicalNerd I love what you do . I hope you publish a book one day . One question is there an American composer you think who is not talked about but should be . Tenney is talked about and died just after I read about him in Village Voice . please do a segment on George Walker . Certainly black composers before the 1970's haven't gotten much programme attention regardless of the four who 've won Pulitzers . We have no Graumeyer's or Schonberg prizes . This will change soon since we have been getting the best educations .

[@ulisesdemostenes7074]

May i request one on Vincent d'Indy? (I know he is already in the queue so, would that mean that with my vote he would be like Vincent d'Indy(2)???)

[@ClassicalNerd]

Duly noted!

[@tamaskarolyi2106]

I love your composer biographies! I would wish some more renaissance and baroque composers: Guillaume Du Fay Johannes Ockeghem Josquin Desprez Tomás Luis de Victoria Jean-Baptiste Lully Marc-Antoine Charpentier Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber Dietrich Buxtehude

[@ClassicalNerd]

Due to the overwhelming number of requests I get, I can only add five requests per person. Which of these five would you like added? Keep in mind, those with an already high number of requests at lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html will be made sooner, whereas if you're the first to request a composer, the likelihood of that episode being made with any alacrity is minimal.

[@tamaskarolyi2106]

@@ClassicalNerd Thans for the response! I looked at your list, and in this case, I would like to add an additional vote to Fux and to Biber. :) Thanks! I'm excited for your future videos!

[@ClassicalNerd]

Duly noted!

[@lambertronix]

hahaha "my boy" i'm plunging into carter's music and compositional techniques. any carter disciples or scholars you'd point me toward for interviews or potentially study?

[@ClassicalNerd]

Most any Juilliard-trained composer of a certain age will have at least a few Carter stories, even if they didn't study with him exclusively. I interviewed David Schiff soon after making this video, although he is retired from his post at Reed College. The issue is that not a lot of Carter pupils ended up writing Carterian music, and the Carterian music I can think of was actually not written by Carter (my friend Tyson Davis, for example).

[@shlongtown3000]

this guy set classical music back 50 years

[@stueystuey1962]

To paraphrase Bill Murray, I feel stupider for having to waste my time reading your comment. EC is not only the greatest American composer but ranks with Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Schoenberg as one of the greatest composers to have ever lived.

[@UnknownPascal-sc2nk]

@stuartsegan2783 of your examples the first three are standard repertoire and listened to with pleasure and emotion by the average audience. In the video Carter himself is described as disliking the work of Ives, at least sometimes. Listening to Schoenberg or Carter is, for many, like a lecture on physics in a foreign language. It may be very important but inaccessible.

[@Twentythousandlps]

Process, process, process...

[@scotttisdel138]

Night Fantasies, Carter's "second and final work for solo piano" ?? Not true. There are many later works, including Catenaires, which has many performances on youtube. Nice program, though. I enjoyed it.

[@ClassicalNerd]

Second and final _major_ work for solo piano. Sorry, when a script is over an hour long, occasionally there are verbal miscues.

[@anthonycook6213]

One statement I did not understand was the association of the rise of expressionism with Nazism. Hitler regarded expressionism as the result of Judaism, and it was mocked and forbidden by the Third Reich.

[@ClassicalNerd]

Here's what I had in my script for that segment: "[the Piano Sonata] is neoclassical and pandiatonic, as Carter linked the ideals of neoclassicism with a rejection of German expressionism, which many in the artistic circles of the day felt had contributed to the rise of Hitler." Reporting on this view isn't an endorsement; I think this a weird take at best, but it shows how Carter and his milieu looked through history through the lens of artistic trends.

[@anthonycook6213]

@@ClassicalNerd Thank you for helping me to understand.

[@MrInterestingthings]

I 'd like to find what some have written about the sociology behind power musical circles and in classical music and how does pop music work . It's obvious these number !'s on the radio have been decided for us . The competitions , festivals et. al diffuse important teacher and conservatory power etc. It's just us humans and our propensity for arrangements . Does Adorno talk about this type of historization of music and composer nationalist schools ? Ineed to read him nonetheless . This Boulanger (Rorem loved her met everyone through her ) who had so much power and hundreds of kids running to her yet she's ( sounds narrow-minded not an innovator at all ) talking about parallel fifths and Fux and counterpoint ! Hindemith and Piston and Milhaud taught everybody too at her time though she lived like Carter forever !

[@oblomurg]

I grew interested in what you had to say about Professor Boulanger. I thought about it for a couple of hours and just now recalled an incident between her and Astor Piazzolla,. She gave him some advice regarding his idea of studying classical music. What I get from her council is all about honesty. I'm sure she had other capabilities as an instructor that I am not aware of other than those manifested by her presence. It occurs to me these fledgling alumni chose to be ridden by her and not by more experimental educators due to what they considered laking in their formation. I believe Carter goes a bit deeper into why he went to Nadia in his documentary A Labyrinth of Time. Have a good end of year. PS: I liked some of your mock-ups.

[@mtherload]

I gotta say, Carter's music in the 30s was... (not great?); Even The Pocahontas Suite doesn't float my boat. Ultimately, I still don't see how Carter made such a huge jump into 'complexity' shortly after.

[@muslit]

His music isn't played very often now, maybe some of the chamber pieces. I never cared for his pitches, or the sound of his music. My friend Oly Knussen said that's exactly what he liked - the sound.

[@findbridge1790]

I prefer Coltrane

[@sneddypie]

can u pls do *s o r a b j i* pls mr nerd classical

[@ClassicalNerd]

I did Sorabji very early on! But it is quite old and bad by current standards. It's not necessarily super high up on my priority list for remakes (since making these videos takes an unholy amount of my time) unless I think there would be a genuine audience for it.

[@sneddypie]

@@ClassicalNerd ok mr classical of nerd *a l i s t a i r h i n t o n w i l l l e a d t h e r e v o l u t i o n*

[@boazmecham5101]

elliot carder board

[@samuelmincarelli5051]

??

[@boazmecham5101]

You do not understand the *_intellect_*

[@samuelmincarelli5051]

Ives is the one who used a wooden board.

[@propername4830]

Playboi Carter

[@Melpheos1er]

When you intellectualize music, you kill music. In particular, when you put math in music, you move the emotion, humanity and inspiration out of music

[@zerois2801]

Bruh

[@zerois2801]

This music I would argue was no more “intellectualized” than something like Mozart it’s just intellectual in be try different ways

[@zerois2801]

One sub genre of classical music isn’t really more “smart” or better objectively

[@n.d.688]

That implies that mathematics has no emotion, humanity or inspiration. Have you ever talked to a mathematician about their work? You would be surprised. Some of the mathematicians I have personally met are the some of the most inspired and creative people and it takes tremendous creativity to overcome certain problems. I would never dismiss mathematics as uninspired. Anyway, can you point out where exactly Carter is mathematical? He wasn't trying to find linearly independent vectors but create challenging music.

[@plekkchand]

yawn...