Elliott Carter, like no other, has been building cultural, musical bonds and bridges across the Atlantic. This is particularly remarkable in his flute works: Scrivo in Vento based on Petrarca’s poetry, Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux in two versions for Boulez’s 60th and 70th birthdays. He wrote his Flute Concerto while Daniel Barenboim was preparing the celebrations of his 100th birthday, performing all of his works throughout Berlin in 2008-2009, thus allowing an important European cultural center to celebrate for the first time a living composer from America, thus creating bridges in an unprecedented manner. We performed the Flute Concerto for the first time at the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival in September 2008, a few weeks ahead of Elliott Carter’s 100th birthday, in front of an international crowd of Israeli and Arab music lovers. As he could not be present, I had the great joy of hearing his youthful and energetic yet gentle voice from Tel Aviv airport a few hours after the performance, and his kind words will always resonate in my mind; his music had made me a better musician and his voice a better human being. I am very proud to be associated with the first performances of this major contribution to the flute literature, as we performed the European première in June 2009 at the Berlin Philharmonic, and repeatedly in other important venues such as the BBC Proms. All of his works are part of a flute player’s standard repertoire. Thank you, dear Elliott.
Berlin, December 2012