Carter, Elliott (1908-2012), was one of the leading American composers of the 1900’s. His music is extremely intricate, and its performance requires highly skillful musicianship. Carter became especially noted for his chamber music. He won Pulitzer Prizes for his String Quartets No. 2 (1959) and No. 3 (1973). These works emphasize novel approaches to the traditional quartet. For example, in String Quartet No. 3, Carter divided the group into two duos (violin I and viola, violin II and cello). Highly original in form and detail, Carter’s music also shows the influence of the modern composers Charles Ives of the United States, Arnold Schoenberg of Austria, and Igor Stravinsky of Russia.
Carter’s first important compositions were the ballet suite Pocahontas (1939) and the choral work The Defense of Corinth (1941). In his works beginning the late 1940’s, he used complicated rhythmic patterns, which he called metrical modulations. Carter also composed several major works for orchestra. They include Variations for Orchestra (1955), Double Concerto for Piano with Harpsichord and Two Chamber Orchestras (1961), Piano Concerto (1967), Concerto for Orchestra (1970), A Symphony of Three Orchestras (1976), Three Occasions for Orchestra (1986-1989), and Boston Concerto (2002). Elliott Cook Carter, Jr., was born on Dec. 11, 1908, in New York City. He died on Nov. 5, 2012, at the age of 103.
