In the Spotlight
Elliott Carter’s First Hundred Years
Composer Elliott Carter set an independent course early on in his career after mastering the language of the day, Neo-Classicism; all this while absorbing the truly American spirit in music on this continent. In honor of Carter’s 100th birthday, the New York Woodwind Quintet and pianist Ursula Oppens will perform works that span the composer’s entire career, including his complete works for winds.
Carter’s knack for putting instruments into a discernable dialogue with each other has given him a distinctive voice that has its beginnings in the experiments of Charles Ives, Carl Ruggles and the other firebrand individualist composers who came before him. The program will demonstrate how Carter’s musical language evolved, resulting in the vibrant, unique voice of his maturity.