If I have to be a 100, I want to be this awesome.
Today is Elliott Carter's 100th birthday. He's still composing. That's pretty darned cool.
Unfortunately, I am far too busy with finals to have a proper celebration just of this very fact, so:
1. Carter talks about his life and music.
2. In fact a whole lot of information about Carter and the fact that he's so productive at such an amazingly ripe age. With adorable pictures!
3. Concerts Galore. There's been a lot of concertizing goodness all year. I would so have loved to go. I hope at least there is some sort of interesting retrospective stuff that I can look at later.
4. He's adorable sounding too in this interview with Radio 3.
5. Quintet for Piano and Strings, 1997. It's pretty difficult stuff, but I think it's really interesting. A little guide to listening to Carter.
6. Talking about one of his centenary concerts--conducted by Pierre Boulez! So-so audio, but this is the first piece he talks about, Caténaires. Did I mention difficult? But good?
7. I would like to learn to play the timpani.
8. I wanted to share this cool vocal piece, Syringa, with you, but I don't seem to have it anymore. But you can go forth and find it!
9. So I'll share this piece instead, called Changes. It's a guitar piece, but "Various aspects of the basic harmony are brought out in the course of the work, somewhat like the patterns used in ringing changes." Which is going to get my attention, of course, because bells <3. I wonder if this could be transcribed for the carillon...
A hundred years old. Actively composing since the 20s and 30s. So cool.
And so adorable.
Unfortunately, I am far too busy with finals to have a proper celebration just of this very fact, so:
1. Carter talks about his life and music.
2. In fact a whole lot of information about Carter and the fact that he's so productive at such an amazingly ripe age. With adorable pictures!
3. Concerts Galore. There's been a lot of concertizing goodness all year. I would so have loved to go. I hope at least there is some sort of interesting retrospective stuff that I can look at later.
4. He's adorable sounding too in this interview with Radio 3.
5. Quintet for Piano and Strings, 1997. It's pretty difficult stuff, but I think it's really interesting. A little guide to listening to Carter.
6. Talking about one of his centenary concerts--conducted by Pierre Boulez! So-so audio, but this is the first piece he talks about, Caténaires. Did I mention difficult? But good?
7. I would like to learn to play the timpani.
8. I wanted to share this cool vocal piece, Syringa, with you, but I don't seem to have it anymore. But you can go forth and find it!
9. So I'll share this piece instead, called Changes. It's a guitar piece, but "Various aspects of the basic harmony are brought out in the course of the work, somewhat like the patterns used in ringing changes." Which is going to get my attention, of course, because bells <3. I wonder if this could be transcribed for the carillon...
A hundred years old. Actively composing since the 20s and 30s. So cool.
And so adorable.