[simoon]

I'm kind of shocked that this already hasn't been mentioned, but the the great contemporary American composer died on November 5th at the age of 103.

2 time Pulitzer Prize winner for his 2nd and 3rd string quartets, he continued to compose until shortly before he died. He composed more than 40 works between 90-100 and another 14 after he turned 100. Some great pieces, too.

He was a great one, as far as I'm concerned. But then, I am a huge fan of 20th century, contemporary and avant-garde classical, so he was a major figure in my world.

[richidoo]

RIP. I had no idea he was that old, but I sure love his music. 

Especially played by my favorite band, on my fav label. 
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.559362

Thanks for the heads up.

[Ericus Rex]

There was a very good blurb about his death (and life) on NPR yesterday.  It was by Lloyd Schwartz (a Boston critic and friend of EC).  I think it was aired during Terry Gross' show but it could have been Here and Now.  If I find the link I'll post it.

He's one of those guys you just think will live forever.  I really shouldn't have been so surprised by his death.  I felt the same way when Miles Davis died.

Found this:

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/147248-elliott-carter-1908-2012/

And here's the transcript of the segment I mention above:

http://m.npr.org/news/NPR+Music+Mobile/164605465

[Randy]

Here's a good disc to get acquainted with his music and you can sample the excerpts to see if it's something you might like.  After this, try the series on Bridge, esp. Vols. 6 and 7.  His string quartets rank up there with the best of 20th century works of that genre.

http://www.amazon.com/Elliott-Carter-Concerto-Orchestra-Occasions/dp/B0016MJ3M2/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1352424059&sr=1-4&keywords=elliott+carter