Oh, do tell about the mendacity. I had some problems with his Carter lectures, namely, the overemphasis on difficulty and "ugliness." If you're talking to people who've paid money to hear all of Carter's quartet and piano music, you can skip that stuff.

Yes, that's an irony, indeed, though you will also find plenty of people who will dispute the supposed social and professional compulsion, which seems to have existed primarily at a smallish number of northeastern schools. See my friend Steve Hicken (listen101.blogspot.com) for other views.