Conversation Piece

flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano

(2006)

       adapted from the opera Die Schwester

“Mr. Carter’s ‘Conversation Piece’ . . . has a decidedly operatic quality: . . . the instruments suggest specific, sharply drawn characters in a fluid drama, and their lines have the angular, anxious quality of contemporary vocal writing. The players also make fragmentary spoken contributions, and if they offer only the barest glimpse into the missing libretto, the real action is in the shapely instrumental dialogues.” - Allan Kozinn, The New York Times

Conversation Piece was premiered on October 11, 2006 by the Da Capo Chamber Players at Olin Hall, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.