Elliott Carter's late music /

This book is a welcome addition to the illustrious "Music since 1900" series. Carter enjoyed extraordinary longevity and continued composing until nearly the end of his life. This book offers a thorough examination of Carter's compositional output from 1995 until his death in 2012. A celebrated composer himself, Link (William Paterson Univ.) focuses on individual works, many of them esoteric on first hearing, making them more accessible to the general listener. He provides descriptive and contextualizing information, but does not eschew serious technical analysis. The analysis addresses the depth of understanding necessary for professional musicians, as well as the more learned listener. Over his lifetime, Carter was frequently interviewed and his music has been explored in the written word: those conversations and articles enrich the extensive bibliography in this book. A discography, if one were available, would have been useful, as many of Carter's works are not frequently given live performance but have been recorded. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Mary Neil, emeritus, Augustana College (IL)