Born in New York, he had developed an interest in modern music in the 1920s. He was later introduced to Charles Ives, and later came to appreciate the American ‘ultra-modernists’. After studying at Harvard University (including for a while with Gustav Holst in 1932) he studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, then returned to the United States. Carter was productive in his later years, publishing more than 40 works between the ages of 90 and 100, and over 20 more after he turned 100 in 2008. He completed his last work, "Epigrams" for piano trio, on August 13, 2012.