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Musicians Remember Elliott Carter

Prominent musicians remember American composer Elliott Carter (who would have turned 104 today) through his music. Carter died last month.
Erich Auerbach
/
Getty Images
Prominent musicians remember American composer Elliott Carter (who would have turned 104 today) through his music. Carter died last month.

Elliott Carter, the celebrated composer who fearlessly forged his own brand of American music for nearly eight decades until he died last month, would have turned 104 years old today. After his death, we began reaching out to musicians who both knew him and had special relationships with his work. Immediately, it was obvious just what a profound impact Carter had on the musicians he met. Many used words like "life changing" to describe Carter the man and the revelatory effects of his sometimes thorny, sometimes serene music. Here are a few testimonials to and remembrances of Carter and his music.

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Tom Huizenga is a producer for NPR Music. He contributes a wide range of stories about classical music to NPR's news programs and is the classical music reviewer for All Things Considered. He appears regularly on NPR Music podcasts and founded NPR's classical music blog Deceptive Cadence in 2010.