Performed by Mark Menzies (viola) and Ben Hoadley (bassoon) at the concert 4:7, "It's OK to Auscultate", University of Auckland Music Theatre, 28 May 2021.
Elliott Carter and his wife Helen Photo: www.carter100.com
A work by one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century – the American Elliott Carter, who died in 2012 just a few weeks short of his 104th birthday.
Carter wrote Au Quai in 2002 for the 50th birthday of fellow composer Oliver Knussen ... initials O.K.
But the title is actually the French phrase meaning “to the quay”, or “to the wharf” and it’s taken from, of all things, a short story written by Arnold Schoenberg, which describes the anxiety of the members of a French fishing village when the fishing fleet fails to return after a storm. When they’re finally sighted, the villagers all shout “to the wharves, aux quais!”
Recorded by RNZ Concert
Producer, engineer: Tim Dodd
