Festival of Contemporary Music '08

Tanglewood Music Center Celebrates Elliott Carter's 100th Birthday

Jun 17, 2008

The Tanglewood Music Center is gearing up to celebrate the 100th birthday of composer Elliott Carter at its 2008 Festival of Contemporary Music this July.

Massachusetts residents should get ready for some summer fun at Tanglewood, a prominent scene of contemporary music and a popular host to several of that scene's major composers. Not surprisingly, this academic institute features an annual celebration of the music which has inspired its halls: The Festival of Contemporary Music.

The 2008 Festival of Contemporary Music will take place on July 20-24 and feature the music of 100-year-old Elliott Carter. Even more exciting is the fact that Carter himself will attend the festivities. The occasion is so memorable that the Boston Symphony Orchestra is stepping in to play a major role. Of the 3 programs planned for the 4-day festival, one program will be performed entirely by the BSO, a first in the history of the Tanglewood festival. The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra will also perform one program under the BSO's conductor, James Levine.

Elliott Carter: American Sounds in the 20th Century

Born in 1908, Elliott Carter had the advantage of studying under some significant names. He studied at Harvard University under Walter Piston. Later, he studied for 3 years in Paris under powerhouse piano teacher Nadia Boulanger (whose students also included Aaron Copland, Phillip Glass and Virgil Thompson). Charles Ives encouraged the budding composer and Stravinsky pronounced Carter's Double Concerto for Harpsichord, Piano and Two Chamber Orchestras (1961) and Piano Concerto (1967) "masterpieces."

Carter, like Ives, helped to develop the American contemporary soundscape as one of extreme experimentation in the spacing of instruments, timbre, rhythm and abandonment of "traditional" melody.

Tanglewood: Fellowship of Elites

Many of the concerts at the Festival of Contemporary Music will be performed by the Tanglewood Music Fellows, the musicians studying at Tanglewood. Generous donations to the program mean that composers and musicians who participate in the 8-week residency are offered tuition, room and some board for free. Entrance to the program is determined by a rigorous audition process. Approximately 30% of first chair musicians in American orchestras have studied at Tanglewood. Other notable alumni include a Who's Who list of contemporary music: John Adams, Leonard Bernstein and conductor Christoph von Dohnányi, to name a few.

Tickets

An all-inclusive pass to events at the festival (including pre-program interviews and film events) is available for $75. However, since the pass is part of a Friends of Tanglewood membership, festival-goers should make sure their memberships are up to date prior to attending the festival. Alternatively, individual tickets to each separate performance are available for $11 each.

Sources

The copyright of the article Festival of Contemporary Music '08 in Classical Music Performances is owned by Sarah Canice Funke. Permission to republish Festival of Contemporary Music '08 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.