Details

Field of Interest

Classical Music

Composer

Elliott Carter, 1908-2012

Conductor

William Purvis

Content Type

Music recording

Duration

50 mins

Recording Engineer

David Merrill, fl. 1972

Ensemble

Speculum Musicae

Format

Audio

Sub Genre

Fantasy, Sextet, Song-Cycle, Impromptu, Piece, Miniatures, March

Label

Bridge

Performer

Daniel Druckman

Date Recorded

2000-09-01

Review

The Music of Elliot Carter, Vol. 4 is an installment in Bridge Records' ongoing series of discs surveying the output of the eminent American composer. This is devoted, except in one instance, to works written at the end of the twentieth century. In 2003, Carter was still actively creating new works, quite an impressive feat as his "Opus 1" appeared way back in 1928. Of the new pieces, Luimen and Shard (both from 1997) are the standout works. Shard is a short work for acoustic guitar that can be described as a sort of a delicate jumble of fragmentary figures played with frightening precision by guitarist David Starobin. Luimen is a chamber piece further evolved from Shard that lasts about ten minutes. The most attractive feature of Luimen is the delicate interplay in quiet passages between the guitar, mandolin, and vibes used as part of the ensemble. The remaining new piece, Tempo e Tempi (1999), is a song cycle on Italian poetry for soprano and a motley collection of instruments, here performed by Speculum Musicae featuring the voice of Susan Narucki. Frankly, this is the least-satisfying work on the disc, as it mainly consists of Narucki's singing gliding above a non-supportive, non-blending ensemble in a manner familiar from mid century European works, such as those by Boulez and Dallapiccola. However, the "kicker" here is the first complete recording of Carter's Pieces (8) for timpani (1950 -- 1966) played with fantastic fleet-of-mallets and studied nuance by percussionist Daniel Druckman. The Bridge recording demonstrates amazing sensitivity to these instruments, and Carter's Pieces (8) provides an immediate and exciting multi-dimensional listening adventure. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

Subject

Classical Music, Music & Performing Arts, 20th Century, Siglo XX, Século XX

Keywords and Translated Subjects

Siglo XX, Século XX