Authoritative performances.
Aaron | 03/31/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a convenient box containing a handful of Carter's best music up to 1982, from the early Piano Sonata to the Triple Duo. Many of the recordings are currently available from Nonesuch as individual releases (Nonesuch 71234, 71249, and 79248), but if you've put off buying any of these, now is your chance to get them all at a bargain price.
The clincher for this set, though, is the release of a few key recordings never available on CD or currently out of print. Paul Jacobs' 1982 recording of Night Fantasies -- Carter's largest work for piano and one of the most significant works for the instrument of the last fifty years -- has inexplicably never been released in digital format, and it's an essential addition to the discography. Jacobs was one of the four joint commissioners of the piece, and his performance is entirely as worthwhile as Oppens' and Rosen's. More deliberate than either of those, Jacobs luxuriates in the expansive chordal sections, but still flies through the more virtuosic passages with abandon. He may not have Oppens' delicate counterpoint or Rosen's architectural prowess, but it's a compelling and historically significant performance.
We also get reissues of the Triple Duo (also performed by the dedicatees, The Fires of London) and the 1981 song cycle In Sleep, In Thunder (with Martyn Hill and the London Sinfonietta, led by longtime Carter advocate Oliver Knussen), and a bonus of James Levine's fantastic performance of the Variations for Orchestra with the CSO, previously released on Deutsche Grammophon.
The other performances are well-documented and reviewed elsewhere; suffice it to say, they are all definitive recordings by seasoned Elliott Carter performers. The Composers Quartet, in my opinion, has the edge on both Arditti and Juilliard in their early recording of the first two quartets, particularly with the expansive desert landscapes of No. 1.
My only disappointment is that the Duo for violin and piano is unfortunately missing, another historic Nonesuch recording (Paul Zukofsky and Gilbert Kalish, who premiered the piece) which ought to have been included. Despite this, there's little excuse not to get this bargain set while you can. Perfect for Carter aficionados and new listeners alike, it's a fantastic selection of the breadth of his musical style in performances that can't be beat."
Carter Revelations
Arthur Leonard | New York, NY USA | 05/13/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've found Elliott Carter's music quite difficult over the years, and even with so much exposure to his more recent output at the 100th birthday concerts, I've had my share of problems. I decided to go back to the beginning and ordered this box, which has mainly the Nonesuch recordings of his earlier output through to the early 1970s, including the famous Composers Quartet renditions of the first two string quartets. What I heard was a revelation. I finally started to "understand," in the sense of having some musical appreciation, of this music. Nonesuch also licensed some fine recordings of early Carter works from other sources, so the box gives you a decent cross-section, including some orchestral music well performed. I can recommend this very highly for people looking for a "way into Carter.""
Track Listings (5) - Disc #1