An American Modernist: Teatime With Elliott Carter

Abstract

This interview with Elliott Carter, conducted on 30 May 2012, is among the last that he gave. Carter talks candidly about his past, the present, and what his legacy will be. While discussing his latest worksa series of short epigrams and a new setting of Wallace Stevens poems -Carter explains how each composition is a unique musical adventure; consequently, he does not repeat himself. Innovation is the essence of Carter's oeuvre, clearly manifested in his string quartets, which Carter still views as his grandest musical statements. He speaks openly about the difficulties of getting these and other works performed well, the lack of performances of his compositions on the West Coast, and the current trends and direction of composition today. Carter recalls important experiences and events in his life involving Nadia Boulanger, Ives, Cage, Boulez, and Stravinsky. Photo © Meredith Heuer, 2000 1 I would like to thank the late Elliott Carter for taking the time from his busy schedule to meet with me, for welcoming me into his home, and sharing so many insightful, wonderful and candid stories; Virgil Blackwell for arranging the meeting; Music Department of University of California, Santa Barbara, for their support. Finally, I would like to thank Joel Hunt for contributing to the transcription and editing of the conversation.Tempo 67 (264) 22-29

Narratology in the Practice Session Model of Elliott Carter's String Quartet No. 5

“…I'm not going to write another string quartet. 27 Anne Shreffler and Felix Meyer concur with this late assessment and have pointed to the valedictory quality of the musical relationships with Carter's earlier quartets, suggesting that, for example, the pizzicati found in the last movement of the String Quartet No. 5 can be traced back to the last section of String Quartet No.…”