Three Illusions for Orchestra
Three Illusions for Orchestra is an orchestral triptych by the American composer Elliott Carter. The complete work was given its world premiere in Symphony Hall, Boston, on October 6, 2005 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the conductor James Levine. Structure. "Three Illusions for Orchestra" has a duration of roughly 9 minutes and is composed in three movements. Micomicón. "Micomicón" was originally commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the conductor James Levine and was composed in New York City in 2002. The title comes from the novel "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes, about which  Carter described in the program notes, ""Micomicón", invented by Sancho Panza and his friends to cure Don Quixote's 'madness', is said to be a kingdom near Ethiopia stolen by a giant from its queen, Micomicona, who beseeches the adventurous Don Q. to put her back on the throne (in Cervantes' great novel, chapters 29-30, book 1)." Fons Juventatis. "Fons Juventatis" refers to a Roman myth wherein Jupiter fell for the goddess Juventas and later turned her into a fountain, whose waters rejuvenate all who bathe in it. More's Utopia. "More's Utopia" refers to the 1516 book  Utopia by Thomas More. Carter wrote in the score program notes, "Thomas More invented the word Utopia (Ou Topos – no place), the name for his imagined completely happy society with no central government, which followed draconian laws that governed almost all human activities." Instrumentation. The work is scored for a large orchestra comprising three flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet), bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, three bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, three percussionists, piano, harp, and strings. Reception. "Three Illusions for Orchestra" has been  praised by music critics. George Grella of the "New York Classical Review" called it "a distillation of the brilliant, aphoristic style of Carter’s work from his ninth decade on." He added, "Carter scores for a large orchestra yet writes with such spare precision that it almost sounds like chamber music. The polyphony is particularly unadorned, and the subject matter, the dangers of utopian thinking, was important to the composer in his last years." Anne Midgette of "The New York Times" similarly remarked: Andrew Clements of "The Guardian" called the three movements "glitteringly polished miniatures" and wrote: Three Illusions for