Elliott Carter
When Carter went to study in Paris in the early 1930s Stravinsky was the most famous composer who worked there. Carter was influenced to some extent by Stravinsky’s music as well as by that of his friend Charles Ives, but he worked hard to find a style of his own. Some of his music during the Second World War is quite tonal, but his later music uses more atonality (music not in any key) and has complicated rhythms. His best known works include the Variations for Orchestra (1954-5); the Double Concerto for harpsichord, piano and two chamber orchestras (1959-61); the Piano Concerto (1964-65), written as an 85th birthday present for Igor Stravinsky; the Concerto for Orchestra (1969) and A Symphony of Three Orchestras (1976).