''Night Fantasies'' is a 1980 composition for

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

by the American composer

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

. The work was commissioned by the pianists

Charles Rosen Charles Welles Rosen (May 5, 1927December 9, 2012) was an American pianist and writer on music. He is remembered for his career as a concert pianist, for his recordings, and for his many writings, notable among them the book ''The Classical Sty ...

, Paul Jacobs,

Gilbert Kalish Gilbert Kalish (born July 2, 1935) is an American pianist. He was born in New York and studied with Leonard Shure, Julius Hereford and Isabelle Vengerova. He was a founding member of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, a pioneering new music gr ...

, and

Ursula Oppens Ursula Oppens (born February 2, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist and educator. She has received five Grammy Award nominations. Biography Ursula Oppens was born on February 2, 1944, in New York City into a highly musical family fr ...

, all to whom the work is dedicated. It was given its world premiere by Ursula Oppens in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

on June 2, 1980—a mere two weeks after its completion. The piece is one of Carter's most regularly performed compositions and has been recorded numerous times.

Composition

''Night Fantasies'' is composed in one continuous

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

and has a duration of roughly 24 minutes. Carter conceived it as "a piano piece of continuously changing moods, suggesting the fleeting thoughts and feelings that pass through the mind during a period of wakefulness at night." The composer further described the form of the work in the score program note, remarking: He added, "In this score, I wanted to capture the fanciful, changeable quality of our inner life at a time when it is not dominated by strong, directive intentions or desires – to capture the poetic moodiness that, in an earlier romantic context, we employ in the works of

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

like ''

Kreisleriana ''Kreisleriana'', Op. 16, is a composition in eight movements by Robert Schumann for solo piano, subtitled ''.'' Schumann claimed to have written it in only four days in April 1838 and a revised version appeared in 1850. The work was dedicated to ...

'', ''

Carnaval Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

'', and '' Davids-bundlertanze''."

Reception

''Night Fantasies'' has been praised by musicians and critics alike. The pianist

, who co-commissioned the piece, described it as "perhaps the most extraordinary large keyboard work written since the death of

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

." The music critic

Mark Swed Mark Swed (born ) is an American music critic who specializes in classical music. Since 1996 he has been the chief classical music critic of the ''Los Angeles Times'' where his writings have made him a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' called the work "an unforgettable memory" and observed, "Its complexities alone could keep you up at night." Jerry Kuderna of the ''San Francisco Classical Voice'' similarly described it as Carter's "

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

for piano."

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Elliott Carter 1980 compositions Compositions for solo piano Music commissioned by ensembles or performers Piano compositions by American composers