The

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

composer Elliott Carter wrote his clarinet concerto in 1996 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ensemble InterContemporain, who premiered the work in January 1997 under the direction of

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

. Alain Damiens was the soloist in this performance; his premiere recording of the work with the Ensemble InterContemporain under David Robertson was released in 1999. The concerto lasts just under 20 minutes and is in seven movements which play without a break: # Scherzando (mm. 2-43) # Deciso (mm. 49-87) # Tranquillo (mm. 91-152) # Presto (mm. 167-226) # Largo (mm. 231-264) # Giocoso (mm. 279-373) # Agitato (mm. 387-447) As in many of Carter's later works, the full 18-man chamber orchestra rarely plays tutti; instead the clarinet soloist takes part in a sequence of dialogues with subsections of the orchestra (piano, harp and pitched percussion in the first movement; unpitched percussion in the second (vibraphone, marimba); muted brass in the third; woodwinds in the fourth; strings in the fifth; open brass in the sixth; and tutti in the seventh), into which the rest of the ensemble interjects occasional commentary.Notes to the DG recording of the work. The concerto has received four commercial recordings; in addition to Damiens', recordings with

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

, Simon Aldrich and Paul Meyer have also been released. Pierre Boulez is featured conducting rehearsals of the concerto in the film ''A Labyrinth of Time''. He is also shown discussing the work with Carter.

References

Concertos by Elliott Carter Atonal compositions 1996 compositions Carter, Elliott {{concerto-stub