The Music of Elliott Carter [Hardcover]

Schiff has done a lucid job here for the readers,he writes quite well, not slipping into piles of set theory or analytical jargoneze,that speaks to a diminishing elite. Many have labeled Carter an elite creator,but that's a matter of reference(well Carter did walk out on a performance in Chicago due to Leonard Slatkin's pre-concert remarks). Schiff remarkably covers all the great Carter works, the turbulent works of the Sixties and Seventies, the darkly brooding Piano Concerto(written in West Berlin) and the Concerto for Orchestra,a Sixties work of violence, a reflection on the Anti-War Times. The latter unaccompanied solos are all here as well, all works written,for the most part after the First Edition. Schiff frequently reflects upon what works in a piece, a purely function premise that explains much, and is food for thought to any youngster hoping to someday write just like Elliot Carter. I miss the photographs from the First Edition, those with Stravinsky and Boulez, and the Carter manuscript reproductions included there. Schiff seems quite lucid in speaking about all this complexity whether rhythmic,structural or pitchbound. I didn't know for instance that Carter has kept a harmony book, sort of a creative Oracle to refer to over ones life. The chapters divide things again quite clearly, The Chamber Music, The Vocal Music, The Piano Music and Orchestral, with a nice Appendix of Carter's Listing of Three to Six Note Chords, also a Chronological Catalogue of Works, a select Bibliography and Discography, a List of Charts. A shame however is, although the winner of numerous Pulitzers, Carter until quite recent times has been neglected here in this country fighting in his home territory, the Eastern Musical Establishment and the Bernstein Clique of the Sixties and Seventies. Boulez did much to repair this damage with The New York Philharmonic and now Barenboim has in Chicago, as well as premiere ensembles,Arditti and soloists,Chas Rosen and Ms Oppens. Schiff also always points to Carter's extracurricular interests in literature, where he frequently finds an impetus for a work, as well as the Italian language for a conceptual working premise. The Glossary at the beginning also is a wonderful clarifier, of forms we frequently hear about but seldom understand within the context of the subsequent work these terms refer to.

David Schiff, who studied composition with Elliott Carter, produced a study of his mentor's music in 1983. Carter's longevity and immense productivity occasioned a second edition in 1998. In the years since, Carter has produced dozens of more pieces, but for the time being those wanting a serious introduction to Carter's mighty oeuvre will have to be content with this 1998 edition.

Schiff goes through every piece that Carter had written to date, but instead of a strictly chronological presentation, the author divides the oeuvre into eleven sections: 1) String Quartets, 2) Chamber Music for Wind Instruments, 3) Chamber Music for Piano and other Mixed Ensembles, 4) Short Instrumental Works, 5) Choral Works, 6) Songs with Piano (or Guitar), 7) Works for Solo Voices and Instruments, 8) Piano Music, 9) Ballets, 10) Concertos and 11) Symphonic Works.

Schiff's analysis of the mature works focuses mainly on two aspects of this music. One is Carter's derivation of pitches from certain chords, and an appendix contains Carter's own listing of all these chords. The other aspect is Carter's polyrhythms and "metric modulation". It is the latter that is really distinguishes Carter's music, with its dizzying interaction between parts that accompany each other but rarely meet. Besides the analysis, there's plenty of interesting facts about the contexts in which the works were written. The "Symphonia" turns out to have provoked a nasty spat between the composer and the New York Philharmonic, for example. Also, Schiff talks about Carter's taste in literature and his ideas of what poems are suitable for setting to music.

While Schiff's book demands a good knowledge of music, I must say that I don't think that Elliott Carter's music requires a knowledge of the theory behind it. With his interest in presenting a dialogue in the form of music between the various instruments, he is one of the more accessible high modernists. Certainly, one can fall in love with certain pieces at first hearing, before one has any idea what is going on beneath the surface (for me these were the Symphonia and "A Mirror on Which to Dwell", YMMV). However, with any composer there's bound to be some harder nuts to crack, and for those with a knowledge of music theory, Schiff's analysis may help you gain an appreciation for works that were formerly elusive (for me these were the String Quartet No. 3 and the Triple Duo, but again YMMV).

Incidentally, what this Amazon listing title means by "photos not included" is that this edition lacks a section in the middle with photos. I've seen the "photos included" edition at libraries, and the few photos turn out to be only things like facsimiles of blurry sketches and a letter from Igor Stravinsky to Carter. That is, minor trivia, not anything worth worryting about.

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