This is a very deep dive into Carter’s brain. Most of it is very serious criticism but some of it simple adoration for the composers he loves.
Thank God we live in the digital age and I could break and sample the music he’s writing about. I’ve spent decades listening to contemporary classical music and I still would’ve been completely lost before the internet. This is under 400 pages but don’t expect to rip through it and get much out of it. He goes through everything from Ancient Greece to the late twentieth century.
Anyone who works through this book putting in the effort it deserves will come out the other side greatly enriched. This big boy is dense beyond dense. Extraordinarily educational.
Warmth Highest 