Elegy (1939/2007) by Elliott Carter
for cello and piano

Elegy was originally composed for cello and piano in 1939 as a result of one of a series of meetings between composers and performers arranged by the League of Composers. One of the meetings was with a cellist and this led a number of composers, including myself, to write pieces for this particular cellist to perform. But I don’t think he ever included my piece in his repertory. In the intervening years that original score has been misplaced or lost altogether. So when I was asked in 2007 to make a new arrangement for cello and piano I referred to the string quartet version.