As documents of Elliott Carter's fully developed procedures, the first two works presented here are among the most challenging in the modernist repertoire. The Piano Concerto (1965) is uncompromising in its aggression and expressionism, and the contentious activity between the piano and orchestra is almost impenetrable in the first movement. Except for the sparer textures of the second movement, the concerto might be too dense and overwrought for instant appreciation. Ursula Oppens dominates the orchestra in her vigorous performance, but her part is a thicket of notes that has little apparent connection to the orchestra's business. In the collage-like Concerto for orchestra (1969), four differentiated instrumental groups are in constant conflict, interrupting and playing past each other. Sometimes Carter's effects are brilliant and kaleidoscopic, but most often the massed sounds are opaque and difficult to digest. Carter's music is easier to comprehend in his late period, and the Three Occasions for orchestra (1986-1989) are accordingly more atmospheric and transparent than either of the preceding works. Almost Ivesian in color and a subtle evocation of things past, this orchestral set is the most accessible on the disc. Under Michael Gielen, the SWF Symphony Orchestra is competent and seems fully engaged, though its efforts are hampered by Arte Nova's flat recorded sound.
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