Carter became interested in modern music beginning in the 1920s, especially after hearing a performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in 1924. He became acquainted with composer Charles Ives, from whom his family had bought insurance, and the pair often attended concerts together. Carter studied under Gustav Holst at Harvard and Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and later taught at Columbia, Yale, Cornell, and Julliard while composing such notable works as Variations for Orchestra, Double Concerto for Harpsichord and Piano with Two Chamber Orchestras, Concerto for Orchestra, Symphony of Three Orchestras, as well as five string quartets, two of which were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1960 and 1973.
Mario Cuomo (1932-2015) served three terms as New York’s governor, from 1983-1994. A popular Democrat and vocal critic of President Ronald Reagan, he was considered a front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination but on February 19, 1987, Cuomo announced that he would not run.
Typed on the verso of a handwritten letter from an admirer, dated November 9, 1988, asking for Carter’s pick for U.S. president. Folded. Broadly signed and in excellent condition. Uncommon.
