Elliott Carter - Caténaires

Recorded live from the first night of the BBC Proms, July 2008

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Elliott
• Carter
• Caténaires
• Pierre
• Laurent
• Aimard

[BornAgain2989]

I want to add also, that Carter doesn't necessarily "put" complexity in his music - that's just what his music is. People tend to think of him as a mathematician of sorts, but in fact if you study him in detail, you'll find that in most cases he'll abandon his systems "if the effect is not musical" - his own words. So, every technique or structural idea he works with has a musical purpose. And he's been working at it since before your parents (and mine!) were born. Give the man some respect ?

[BornAgain2989]

Look, I'm not going to waste time trading opinions on what constitutes great art - people have wasted enough time on that for centuries. However, I will say that you cannot make an objective claim that the music says little emotionally. Everyone experiences things in a different way, we all have our own brains, ways of thinking about things. I find Carter playful, emotional, dramatic and exciting, and if you think his music is academic and passé, then I'm sorry but that's just your take on it.

[BornAgain2989]

The modernist aesthetic may be outdated /obsolete, but that does not belittle its significance or lessen its quality. Lots of things are outdated (like common sense and high standards) but that doesn't mean we ought to abandon them. Or are you suggesting that art music should pander to the masses and aim to please rather than stand on its own?

Carter's music is indeed complex and very intricate, but he does maintain a healthy balance between emotion and intelligence like all great music does

[miker2001]

Not one note is out of place. The whole fabric of the piece would be destroyed if even one note was removed. Thanks Elliott!

[miker2001]

Right up there next to last movement of Chopin's 2nd Sonata.

[MuseDuCafe]

Lyrical, brilliant, and highly ordered. I'm really surprised people find it complex, or mistake it as being 'atonal'. or have to parse out a rationalization for what they hear here - tonal music by a master craftsman who has been at it quite a while. A lovely eclat of a piece.

[daniel15671]

really well done!

[TheGloryofMusic]

@arvidtom

Carter is (or was) capable of great lyricism in the Piano Sonata.

[PianoplayerPaul]

This piece is so amazing! So wonderfully captivating!

Carter's old-age compositional energy levels are so astounding! (He was 99 when he wrote this, now 101.)

[herma57]

tres rapide, tres vif, comme oiseaux de feux, pyrotechnique

[daniel15671]

This is quite exciting, more readily "listenable" than some of his other works.

[sebastian181812]

very nice

[chaimgogol]

Random? Then how do you explain the fact that while studying the piece I discovered some proofreading errors in the published score, later confirmed by Mr Carter?

[scotttinkler]

Wow, this is an impressive performance! For me, the music itself is impressive too, I get more out of it each time I hear it. Random??? He did say 'sounding' I guess, doesn't sound random to me, if it was Mr Carter was very lucky indeed, and has been many times! Thanks for putting this up, inspiring on sooooooo many levels.