Concerto for Orchestra - Elliott Carter

Описание: London Sinfonietta conducted by Oliver Knussen.

I - Introduction. Misterioso (0:00) - Allegro (0:53) - Presto volando (5:38) - Maestoso (9:52) - Allegro agitato (15:51) - Coda. Allegro molto (18:41)

Carter's Concerto for Orchestra was composed in 1969, being commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to commemorate their 125th anniversary. It was premiered on February 5 of 1970, performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

In this work, the large orchestra is broken down by register into four groups of instruments (high, high-middle, low-middle, and low). These take turns stepping on each other's toes as the six internal connected sections unfold. To each of these freshly organized families of instruments is added a group of percussion instruments. Carter's musical conception was not an absolute one: he seems to have organized certain elements of the concerto around the poem "Vents" (Winds) by St. John Perse, a long poem about America which suggested a way of ordering a piece. Carter realized that the broad, Whitmanesque rhetoric of the poem could only partially be reflected in the music, whose main aim was to give individual, human expression to a great variety of players.

After a brief introduction, the Allegro begins, which emerged from one of the layers of music heard at the beginning, features the cello section (sometimes divided in to as many as seven different soloists, as are all the strings) piano harp, marimba, xylophone and wooden percussion. It centers around the lower middle register and is in a moderately fast speed throughout the work. The Presto volando features high strings, high winds and metallic percussion, and started very fast and lightly and bit by bit becomes slower over the whole work. The Maestoso features the double basses, tuba, horns, timpani and other low-pitched instruments and keeps to its recitative-like character. The Allegro agitato features the violas, oboes, trumpets, snare drums and other medium high instruments and starts with slow fragments that become faster as the work progresses until it expands into a rapid conclusion. As with all of Carter's works, the primary intention is expressive and the entire musical vocabulary, instrumentation and form have been chosen to further this. After all this complexity and dissonance, the work ends with a calm fade-out coda.

Picture: "Synchromy in Orange, To Form" (1913-4) by American painter Morgan Russell.

Sources: https://tinyurl.com/ynj2ox4p and https://bit.ly/3VwJmsI

To check the score: https://bit.ly/3rVVQMT