Annual American Composers Update
Elizabeth Lauer
SAI National Arts Associate Elliott Carter has homes in
Southbury, CT and New York, NY. Beginning May 18, the
Morgan Library, in New York, NY, has exhibited his manuscripts.
On May 25, Carter received the Prince Rainier Prize for
Allegro Scorrevole, and on May 23, he was inducted
into the Classical Music Hall of Fame, in Cincinnati.
Recent books about him include
Ecrits d'Elliott Carter,
published by Contrechamps, Geneva, Dec. 1998; and
The
Music of Elliott Carter, second, revised edition,
by David Schiff, published by Faber & Faber in London
and by Cornell University Press in the United States.
Premieres
Ed Spaniard led the Nieuw Ensemble in the first performance
of
Luimen, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Apr.
1. On Apr. 25, a Manchester, England program of the BBC
Symphony Orchestra, under Oliver Knussen, presented
Symphonia
-- Fluxae pretium spei. Soprano Victoria Schneider
and three instrumentalists premiered
Tempo E Tempi,
July 1, in Sermoneta, Italy. Ursula Oppens and the Arditti
Quartet introduced Carter's
Piano Quintet Nov.
18, at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, the first
of 13 performances in the United States, England, Germany,
and France.
Performances
An all-Carter concert in Toronto, Apr. 5, included
Luimen,
conducted by Robert Aitken,
Of Challenge and of Love,
Scrivo in Vento, and
Con leggerezza pensosa.
In 1998, Carter's
Clarinet Concerto was heard with
Roland Diry and the Ensemble Modern, in Frankfurt, Germany;
with John Bruce Yeh and the Chicago Symphony, under Pierre
Boulez (Apr. 23-28); with Charles Neidich and Ensemble
Collegium Novum, under Heinz Holliger, in Zurich, Switzerland
(May 10); with Simon Aldrich and Domaine Forget, under
Lorraine Vaillancourt, in Montreal, Canada (Aug. 21);
with Thomas Martin and the Tanglewood Orchestra, under
Stefan Asbury (Aug. 8); with Neidich and the Orpheus Ensemble,
in New York, NY (Dec. 7); and with Ernesto Molinari and
Ensemble Contrechamps, under Holliger, in Geneva and Lausanne,
Switzerland (Dec. 12-13). On Apr. 10, 1998, Leonard Slatkin
conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Carter's
Elegy. Heard at Tanglewood, MA, Aug. 6-7, 1998
were
String Quartet No. 5, with the Arditti Quartet;
Of Challenge and Love, with soprano Lucy Shelton
and pianist Karl Paulnack;
Three Songs of Robert Frost,
with soprano Jennifer Riviera and pianist Akiko Kosaki;
Warble for Lilac Time, with soprano Annalise Eberhart
and pianist Dennis Helmirch; and
Voyage, with soprano
Tracy Rhodus and pianist Ken Johansen. The Finnish Radio
Orchestra, David Robertson, conductor, played
Partita,
May 15.
Publications
Clarinet Concerto; Piano Quintet; Luimen; Allegro Scorrevole;
all by
Boosey & Hawkes.
Recordings
All works for voice and piano; Shelton and John Constable;
Koch International
Classics.
String Quartet No. 5, Figment, Fragment,
Duo for Violin and Piano, 'Cello Sonata; Oppens and
the Arditti Quartet; Auvidis 90+ CD.
Symphonia, Clarinet
Concerto; BBC Symphony Orchestra, Knussen conducting;
Deutsche Grammophon, Dec. 1998.
Further Information
