Customer Reviews

Elliott Carter: Homages & Dedications

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This Naïve disc contains performances of various Elliott Carter works performed by the Nieuw Ensemble, led by Ed Spanjaard. These are all short pieces written as homages and dedications to friends of the composer, dating from the 1980s and 1990s, and are generally far from the brash and noisy pieces he made his name with in the preceding decades. Instead, they are works of luminous timbre with a sense of wit, and interaction of multiple lines is more bubbly dialogue than battle.

I found the music here of quite variable quality, and the most memorable works are those for two instruments or small ensemble. "Luimen" (1997) was written especially for the Nieuwe Ensemble and seems the most substantial of the pieces here. It is scored for trumpet, trombone, vibraphone, mandolin, guitar & harp, a unusual combination that reminds one of the alto-tenor world of Boulez's "Le Marteau sans Maitre" or Takemitsu's "Ring"; indeed, it's amazing just how different Carter's music sounds here just because of the scoring, even if his actual technique remains the same.

"Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux II" (1994) is birthday music for Pierre Boulez's 70th birthday and a sequel to a duet for flute and clarinet that Carter wrote 9 years earlier for Boulez's 60th. Here a marimba is added, and the music follows naturally from the last notes of the first piece (which can be heard on a fine Erato disc).

"Trilogy" for harp and oboe (1992) was originally written for Heinz and Ursula Holliger, but here it is taken up by two other performers who share a name, Ernestine Stoop and Ernest Rombout. The first piece "Bariolage" is a complex work for harp, where multiple lines in various tempo relationships vie with each other as in Carter's orchestral works. (I wish there were more high modernist pieces for this instrument.) The oboe ultimately enters, but only with single, long-held notes. In "Inner Song", it's the opposite, as the oboist plays his heart out, and only twice does the harpist appear, each time interrupting the oboist with a single tone. With the last piece, "Immer Neu" we have a true duet.

The "Enchanted Preludes" for flute and cello (1988) are a similar kind of dialogue, though less loving. The "Canon for 4" for flute, clarinet, violin and cello (1984) and "Con leggereza pensosa" for clarinet, viola and cello (1990) are the closest in sound to Carter's 1960s music and will appeal to those who enjoy his second and third string quartets. They have a sort of dispassionate Darmstadt feel that is refreshing after the more exhuberence pieces on the disc.

Unfortunately, the solo works here are mainly unimpressive. "Scrivo in Vento" for flute solo (1991) is a slow piece with sudden changes of register, while "Gra" for clarinet (1994) is fast and whimsical. They might serve well in a recital where a young performer wants to show off his talents, but they seem pretty lightweight to this home listener. However, "90+" for solo piano (1994) is a memorable piece, where Carter's runaway tempos are nonetheless subjugated to a clear pulse of 90 bars in honor of Goffredo Petrassi's birthday, before ending with a great flourish. "Changes" for guitar (1983) holds up well too.

For me, Carter's orchestral work is his greatest, and the material here is of somewhat lesser importance. Nonetheless, if you are a fan of the composer, you'll find much here to enjoy, though it is an rather inconsistent hour of listening.

(Verified purchase from a Helsinki classical music shop.)