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Carter Lawrence Larsen is an American classical pianist and composer, known mostly for his European performances in the 1980s. He focuses on piano and orchestra composition and has composed more than 600 pieces, including work for film scores. [1]
Larsen was born in San Francisco, California. He began piano studies at the age of six and started composing music in his teens. He graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and pursued a career as composer and pianist. He studied composition under John Adams and piano under Milton Salkind (Conservatory president) and Mack McCray. After studying at Conservatory, he worked with Peter Feuchtwanger and Ruth Nye in London, and Vlado Perlemuter in Paris.
Larsen is credited with having created a new style of 21st-century romanticism, which combined 19th-century romanticism with 20th century influences such as jazz, minimalism and world music. He is a prolific composer, with more than 600 piano and orchestra works including Fantasia Suite, The Cosmos Symphonic Suite and Symphonies on The Lake to his name. [2]
Andrea Van de Kamp, Chairman Emeritus of the Music Center in Los Angeles, said “Fantasia Suite" was "the music of the future." She described Larsen's 21st century, Neo-Romantic approach as a "breakthrough", and said he had embraced the best of classical culture while exploring other forms of creativity. Scott Epstein complimented Larsen's music, describing it as "personal, deeply felt and sophisticated", and said Larsen had resisted conventional labels and pursued his own path. [3] Larsen's approach to the piano, though modern and individual, has been influential in the compositions of classical and romantic composers.
Larsen became known in Europe for his piano performances of the High Romantics. His interpretations of Liszt, Grieg, Rachmaninoff and Saint-Saëns won acclaim from audiences and critics. [4] [5] [6] He both conducted and performed as a soloist in major concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [7] and the London Symphony Orchestra. [8] In 1986, his performance in London of Chopin's music was broadcast on BBC Television's "Omnibus " program. [9] He performed several world premieres and recordings of previously unknown works of Liszt and Saint-Saëns. In 1989, he became the first pianist to make a complete CD recording of Saint-Saëns' solo piano music. He established himself as a composer, and premiered four original compositions alongside the classics, which were first broadcast in 1994 on the UK's Classic FM "Platform Live". He served as conductor in the 70th Academy Awards.
Larsen performed in China, at the Shanghai Grand Theatre during Shanghai Expo 2010, at the closing night of the International Film Festival and the Shanghai Music Festival. He performed classics, original compositions and improvisations. The concert was covered by two television stations broadcasting to a total estimated audience of 500 million, and was the first time CNN had interviewed an artist for the Grand Theatre. The Shanghai International Channel and the Shanghai Arts Channel filmed a documentary of the concert. [10]
Since 1973, Larsen has written over 600 piano and orchestra works in Fantasia Suite and The Cosmos Symphonic Suite.
Larsen has written film and television scores, including music for major Hollywood studios. He composed music for various films, including Paramount's Star Trek,Nosferatu,Masterpiece Theatre, and The Mark of Zorro. Larsen's films "Innocents Mission" and Love Bytes premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and his feature Big Shots premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Fantasia Suite
The Cosmos Symphonic Suite
Symphonies on The Lake
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