Carter

David Schiff has written a book that combines extensive research with thoughtful speculation, sure to increase every reader's understanding of Elliott Carter's remarkable life in music. Elliott's continuity and consistency are revealed even though the musical challenges were forever changing. In reading about his early life (he was a chain-smoking stutterer), I was struck by the challenges he faced in gaining professional acceptance (and performances). In the detailed description of his compositions we learn however that challenges were also very often self-imposed. I like Schiff's suggestion that Elliott's life-long impulse was to shape musical stories out of the life in each note , thus giving us tales galore to ponder and delight in. * Lucy Shelton, Soprano * Like a photographer returning to the same image over time and capturing changes both subtle and large-scale, David Schiff has interpreted the revered yet enigmatic composer Elliott Carter over the course of 35 years, viewing his work from ever-shifting perspectives. In Carter, his first major exploration of Carter since the composer's death, Schiff offers a whole new book that brims with unexpected insights. Alternately admiring and ambivalent yet continuously revelatory, Schiff searches for the essence of Carter's voice, delivering a trenchant critique in gorgeously shaped prose. * Carol Oja, William Powell Mason Professor of Music, Harvard University * An indispensable volume for any admirer of this fascinating American pioneer. * Misha Donat, BBC Music Magazine *