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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra celebrates Elliott Carter's centenary year in final concert of 2008
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Worldwide celebrations marking Elliott Carter's centenary year
reach their climax around the composer's birthday and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ
Symphony Orchestra dedicates its closing concert of 2008 to this
musical icon.
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The orchestra has enjoyed a long and productive
association with Carter and for this special event at London's
Barbican Centre on 16 December they are conducted by one of the
composer's foremost champions, Oliver Knussen.
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The programme
includes the world premiere of a new work commissioned by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ
to mark this occasion alongside two UK first performances.
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Carter is renowned for his indefatigable creativity and this
concert features some of his most contemporary works, all written
by the composer during his 90th decade.
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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ commission Wind
Rose receives its first performance by members of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SO's
wind section.
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In addition, the programme includes UK premieres of
two works composed in 2007, Sound Fields written for string
orchestra and a vocal sextet Mad Regales, performed aÌýcappella by
members of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers.
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Martin Owen, principal horn of the
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SO, is the soloist in the composer's Horn Concerto, which
consists of a number of short sections each illustrating
different facets of the instrument, and cellist Anssi Karttunen, a
passionate advocate of contemporary music, performs Carter's
Cello Concerto.
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The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra memorably mounted Get Carter!, a
weekend-long festival of Carter's music in 2006 of which each
concert was performed in the presence of the composer.
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Prior to
that, in the early Nineties, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ commissioned part of Carter's
orchestral triptych Symphonia: sum fluxae pretium spei.
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The
orchestra gave the world premiere of the second movement, Adagio
tenebroso, at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Proms in 1995, under the baton of their
then chief conductor Sir Andrew Davis; Oliver Knussen later
directed the orchestra in first performance of the complete work.
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Knussen and the orchestra had previously collaborated to perform
the world premiere of Carter's Three Occasions for Orchestra in
1989.
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There will be a pre-concert talk at 6.00pm in the Barbican Hall
on The Music Of Elliott Carter.
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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3 broadcasts this latest concert in Performance On 3 on Friday 19
December at 7.00pm.
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The station features two in-depth interviews
with Elliott Carter, exploring the man and his music, broadcast in
Hear And Now on Saturday 6 December and Discovering Music on Sunday 14 December.
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Listings
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Elliott Carter Centenary Concert
Tuesday 16 December 2008, 7.30pm
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Sound Fields (UK premiere)
Cello Concerto
Wind Rose (³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ commission: world premiere)
Mad Regales (UK premiere)
Horn Concerto
Boston Concerto
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Oliver Knussen, conductor
Martin Owen, French horn
Anssi Karttunen, cello
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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra
Members of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers
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This is a change to the originally advertised programme.
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Pre-concert talk, Barbican Hall, 6.00pm
The Music Of Elliott Carter
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Carter on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3
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Hear And Now
Saturday 6 December, 10.30pm
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Ivan Hewett spends a weekend at Carter's home for an in-depth
interview about his life and work. It reveals much about his life
from apprentice years with Nadia Boulanger to the emergence of
the Carter style that has marked him as one of the most
influential figures on the modernist scene. Despite the severity
of the thinking which Carter applied to works like the Concerto
for Orchestra and Penthode, there emerges a man upon whom jazz
has held a continued fascination and for whom the sheer joy of
making music – making it a satisfying experience for those who
play and listen to it – is paramount.
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Discovering Music
Sunday 14 December, 5.00pm
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Stephen Johnson also travels to New York to talk to Elliott
Carter. Guiding us through four of his pieces, Elegy, Triple
Duo, String Quartet no.5 and Dialogues, Carter delves into the
techniques behind his music, together with stories from his life.
From the tale of retreating into the Arizona Desert to compose
his first Quartet, to the riotous premiere of the Rite of Spring,
and dinners with fellow composer Edgar Varèse, Discovering Music
presents a fascinating unravelling not only of four great
American works, but also of an incredible cultural colossus, a
man who has been at the forefront of American Contemporary music
for more than 60 years.
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Performance On 3
Friday 19 December, 7.00pm
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Elliott Cater Centenary Concert recorded at London's Barbican
Centre.
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra/Oliver Knussen. Ìý
Radio 3 Publicity
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