Planning to Retire

Composer Elliott Carter is 100

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December 12, 2008 RSS Feed Print
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Classical music composer Elliott Carter turned 100 years old yesterday. He celebrated by attending a concert at Carnegie Hall that included a piece he composed, Interventions. The New York Times reports:

“Mr. Carter wrote the 17-minute piece, for piano and orchestra, just last year, at 98. In fact, since he turned 90, Mr. Carter has poured out more than 40 published works, an extraordinary burst of creativity at a stage when most people would be making peace with mortality.”

Carter continues to compose every day in his Greenwich Village apartment, where he has lived since 1945.

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I work for Mr. Carter's publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, and we've created a MySpace page for him so that people might send their well wishes for his second century.

Please feel free to stop by: http://www.myspace.com/elliottcartermusic

Sarah of NY 1:02PM December 13, 2008

I think he sets an example of how to be a citizen as well as a great artist. I saw him last night at Carnegie Hall. He was modest and humorous. When asked if he ever felt inhibited, he said he had inhibitions about making money. He was totally sharp and witty.

In a film clip shown between performed pieces, he said that he thought that the complexities of the culture would eventually require people to be more thoughtful toward one another in order to stay connected. This was recorded before the financial meltdown. And there he was, a gentleman at 100 years waking on-stage unassisted for two standing ovations after a world premier of a chamber piece written in 2008.

Melinda Hunt of NY 11:58AM December 13, 2008

Mr. Carter has owned the Greenwich Village apartment since 1945, but he has not spent all his time there. For many years his primary residence was in Waccabuc, NY, a bucolic area right on the lake.For a brief time, he settled in Waterbury, CT. But in his mind, I guess, the city has always been home.

I often think that Mr. Carter's longevity sets a bad example for the rest of us, creating the illusion that we all have plenty of time left. We don't. Mr. Carter is an extraordinary man, but his greatest strength are his dedication and discipline.

Joe Barron of PA 8:30AM December 13, 2008

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