- Date: 1947
- Composer: Elliott Carter
- Period: Modern (1910-1949)
Review
Impresario Lincoln Kirstein commissioned Carter to write a ballet for performance by the Ballet Society of New York in 1947. The resulting work was The Minotaur, based on the ancient Greek mythological tale of a man-bull, the Cretan labyrinth in which he was imprisoned, and the Greek warrior, Theseus, who killed the Minotaur. Kirstein had previously commissioned Carter's only other ballet, Pocahontas (1939), which was performed by the Ballet Caravan. The Ballet Society, for which The Minotaur was commissioned, was an elite organization whose presentations were held inconspicuously at a high school in New York. The company gave productions with music by such composers as Hindemith and Stravinsky, both choreographed by George Balanchine. Also, the Ballet Society presented the first collaboration between John Cage and Merce Cunningham.Balanchine was supposed to be the choreographer for The Minotaur as well. Before beginning his composition, Carter met with Balanchine to discuss the ballet and its specific scenes. Not long after, Balanchine suddenly left New York for Paris, in an attempt to become the new director of the Paris Ballet. The position never actually opened up, and Balanchine soon returned to New York. In the meantime, Carter and the Ballet Society offered the opportunity to choreograph The Minotaur to Balanchine's young assistant, John Taras. The Minotaur was premiered on March 26, 1947, and was praised by some and criticized by others. The ballet was performed for only two seasons before it was dropped. An orchestral suite was later fashioned by Carter, who excised about one-third of the music from the ballet score. Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra recorded this orchestral suite in 1956. The suite itself was choreographed in the late 1960s by John Butler, and this adaptation was performed in Boston in 1970. Carter felt that the orchestral suite was best fitted for the concert hall, while the ballet should not be presented without the entire original score.
The years of 1936 to 1948 comprise what could be considered Carter's early period, before the first work in his mature style, the Cello Sonata (1948). In the works from this period, Carter's music can be described as embodying a conflict between neo-classical restraint and the complex harmonic and rhythmic innovations that would become prevalent in his mature style. The Minotaur is a strong example of this contradiction in style. Much of the music is similar to Stravinsky's neo-classical pieces, but instances of polyrhythm, or separate lines played at different tempos, are also present. ~ Chris Boyes, All Music Guide
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
| Title | Date |
| A Nonesuch Retrospective | 2009 |
| Elliott Carter: The Minotaur; Piano Sonatas; Two Songs | 1990 |
