Boston Concerto

The '''''Boston Concerto''''' is a concerto for orchestra by the American composer Elliott Carter. The work was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, for which the piece is titled. It was first performed in Symphony Hall, Boston, on April 3, 2003 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Ingo Metzmacher.<ref name="Score">{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Elliott |authorlink=Elliott Carter |year=2002 |title=Boston Concerto |publisher=Boosey & Hawkes |url=http://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Elliott-Carter-Boston-Concerto/26247 |accessdate=January 30, 2016}}</ref> Carter dedicated the concerto to his wife Helen Jones Carter, who died on May 17, 2003.<ref>{{cite web |last=Swartz |first=Steven |title=Obituary: Helen Jones Carter, 95 |work=NewMusicBox |date=May 21, 2003 |url=http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/OBITUARY-Helen-Jones-Carter-95/ |accessdate=January 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Helen Jones Carter, 1930's Sculptor, 95 |work=The New York Times |date=May 22, 2003 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/arts/helen-jones-carter-1930-s-sculptor-95.html |accessdate=February 1, 2016}}</ref>

==Composition== The ''Boston Concerto'' has a duration of roughly 19 minutes and is composed in thirteen connected movements:<ref name="Score" /> {{Ordered list|type=upper-roman

| Allegro staccatissimo

| Lento, teneramente | Tempo primo | Meno mosso | Piu mosso, tempo primo | Meno mosso | Tempo primo | Lento, sostenuto | Tempo primo | Piu mosso | Tempo primo | Maestoso - molto espressivo | Tempo primo }}

===Instrumentation=== The work is scored for an orchestra comprising three flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais, three clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, three percussionists, harp, piano, and strings.<ref name="Score" />

==Reception== The ''Boston Concerto'' has been praised by music critics. Kate Molleson of ''The Guardian'' declared it "a piece of gorgeous orchestral colour." She added, "Sections of the ensemble glint and fade; melodic snippets gurgle to the surface and an exquisite finespun mesh holds it all together."<ref>{{cite web |last=Molleson |first=Kate |title=Elliott Carter: A Celebration review – an affectionate, expressive tribute |work=The Guardian |date=29 May 2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/29/elliott-carter-a-celebration-review-bbcso-glasgow |accessdate=January 30, 2016}}</ref> K. Smith of ''Gramophone'' suggested the piece confirmed a change in Carter's composition style, writing, "It might be too much of a stretch to blame this new-found clarity on the composer writing his first opera in 1999 (at the age of 90!) but clearly Carter has started letting his musical ideas sing as well as shout."<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=K. |title=Carter Dialogues; Boston Concerto; Cello Concerto: Elliott Carter in the Indian summer of his remarkable career – a late bloomer |work=Gramophone |date=April 2006 |url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/carter-dialogues-boston-concerto-cello-concerto |accessdate=January 30, 2016}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

Category:Concertos by Elliott Carter Category:2002 compositions Category:Concertos for orchestra Category:Music commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra Category:Music dedicated to family or friends