'Dictatorial son of a bitch'

Kyle Gann over at ArtsJournal says he hears plenty of stories of Elliott Carter being a 'dictatorial son of a bitch'. But just look at the guy....he seems so warm and cuddly. I played in a small festival of Carter's music at Carnegie Hall in 2001, and the 94-year-old composer came in and talked to us in that smooth, calm old-world Charles-Ives-esque accent that he has. He seemed like a lovely bloke! But reading some interviews over the years, he does seem to have harsh words for anyone that thinks atonal music isn't the way, the truth and the light. 'Avant Garde' seems so retro to me now, and yet there are so many disciples out there, all over the world, still preaching that 'wacko' is some sort of evolutionary step forward.