Elliot Carter (December 11, 1908 - November 5, 2012)

"The Cello Sonata(1948) was extremely modern at that time... I could not get it published. And Bernard Greenhouse and his pianist played the first performance at Town Hall, and they were covered with sweat. It was so upsetting and so disturbing--we had hardly anybody in the audience. If they heard what I write now, they would run out of the hall screaming, I suppose."

Encouraged by the family's insurance salesman to pursue music, Elliot Carter was numbered among the many exceptional pupils of Nadia Boulanger. He was never completely satisfied with his work while studying with her and developed a deep interest in early vocal music and especially the music of Bach. He was a contemporary and colleague of Milton Babbitt. His style eventually developed towards atonal and rhythmically complex music, expanding the ideas of counterpoint to include different movements and ideas, rather than just lines.  He was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes in his lifetime for his music: String Quartet no. 2(1960) & 3(1973). He continued to compose prolifically into his old age; until he died at the age of 103 on November 5, 2012.

And so, today, after a century of ground-breaking and daring music, the world says goodbye to a true visionary and master of the craft, and a personal idol of mine, Elliot Carter.