Elliott Carter's "Caténaires"

[Bobby Simons]

I chased this down after Nahre Sol mentioned it in a recent video.

 

So, it's a crazy piece - notably because there are no chords of any kid, only single notes. A whole lot of them. I'm not sure how you even go about memorizing something like this, no less perform it. Mr. Tao here has some nimble fingers.

 

I just found it different and interesting:

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

[Bobby Simons]

The score. It looks entirely non-threatening if you didn't know the required tempo:

Caténaires

It just occurred to me that you could accurately sequence this into the monophonic synth of your choice.

 

[jimkost2002]

Thanks for this Bobby, Mr. Carter was one of the great geniuses of European Classical Music. This piece just confirms it!

[Studiotan]

Damn!

[Threadslayer]

Ever since I saw this thread early this morning, I've been trying to figure out why he called it Caténaires. Caténaire means catenary in English, which is the shape of a hanging cable like an overhead power line. I looked at the score to see if those 16th note passages made catenary-like swoops, but they really don't. Anyone have any idea what he was thinking?

 

Sorry. I nerd for a living.

[bfields]

I was having the same thoughts!

 

https://www.elliottcarter.com/compositions/catenaires/ says "I became obsessed with the idea of a fast one line piece with no chords. It became a continuous chain of notes using different spacings, accents, and colorings, to produce a wide variety of expression."

 

I don't know, I guess I could see some analogy between a single line and a cable hanging on a series of supports, even if the exact shape isn't really there. Who knows. Wild piece.

[Bobby Simons]

Thanks for this Bobby, Mr. Carter was one of the great geniuses of European Classical Music. This piece just confirms it!

 

I was immensely pleased to read that Carter lived to the ripe old age of 104! He was probably refusing to check out until someone performed this piece to his satisfaction.

 

Well played, Elliott, well played.

[Dave Ferris]

Thanks for this Bobby, Mr. Carter was one of the great geniuses of European Classical Music. This piece just confirms it!

 

Actually he was considered an American composer, although he did study with the legendary Nadia Bolanger in Paris.

 

The pianist obviously has jaw dropping facility and does a fantastic job on a ridiculously difficult piece but when he started, I hoped it would end soon, for whatever reason.

 

Here's Pierre-Laurent Aimard playing the same piece, at a slower tempo.. It was written for him btw. I find it more musical and enjoyable from a listening standpoint. Could be the more Pro recording has something to do with it. But more the fact that Aimard is one of the greatest geniuses of his generation.

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

Here's Aimard again on the second of Elliott Carter's Two Diversions.

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

[Bobby Simons]

Here's Pierre-Laurent Aimard playing the same piece. I find it more musical and enjoyable from a listening standpoint. Could be the more Pro recording has something to do with it.

Or the positively leisurely pace compared to Mr. Tao. Yeah, this is great.

 

And I look forward to Conrad Tao's future recording of the complete player piano works of Nancarrow and Ligeti.