Elliott Carter – Labyrinth of Time
I’ve wanted to see Labyrinth of Time, Frank Scheffer’s 2004 film about Elliott Carter, but could only find copies that were Region 2 DVDs and thus unplayable on my machine. Happily, Juxtapositions (distributed by Naxos) has put out an all-region version. Scheffer spent a quarter century preparing the film, interviewing Carter in locales ranging from New York to Amsterdam and Paris. Along the way, the filmmaker captures a number of memorable moments.
Carter reminisces about Nadia Boulanger while sitting in the classroom where he studied with her. He discusses the influence of Charles Ives while rehearsing his homage Remembering Mr. Ives, and recalls his trip to the desert to write the First Quartet. Scenes are included from rehearsals of the Quintet for Piano and Strings with the Arditti String Quartet and Ursula Oppens. Pierre Boulez and Charles Rosen share their thoughts about Carter’s compositions and legacy.
Scheffer particularly highlights Carter’s status as a lifelong New Yorker, taking breathtaking footage of the Brooklyn Bridge (to which he and Carter walked on the composer’s 77th birthday) and the World Trade Center. While the footage outdoors is abundantly attractive, those of Carter at work in his New York apartment are fascinating. Often at his desk, seemingly oblivious of the camera, Carter is surrounded by his tools, tackling the creation of score after score with zestful enthusiasm: trying out string bowings in the air, fussing with an enormous mechanical eraser, and occasionally playing through angular melodies at the piano. Every composition student should see this film if only to realize that the self-imposed isolation of the composer’s studio can and must be filled with vigor, discipline, and, above all, joyful enthusiasm.
Carter Centenary Website
Have you seen the Carter Centenary Year website? It can be found at www.Carter100.com. It features a calendar of performances, a dizzying array of events including an impressive number of new works to be premiered. The site also includes a short biography, works list, press information, and an eloquent essay by Frank Oteri. May many future composers live by Carter’s example, composing for their hundredth birthday parties!
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It’s a great film, for all the reasons the post mentions, and also for the following 2 reasons: it gives the view a real taste of Mr. Carter’s modest and truly endearing personality, and it shows him interacted with the late Helen Carter. They were truly one of the great couples in the history of art. As he well recognized, his achievement would simply not have been possible without her.