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Morton Feldman: Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello
"Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello" (often abbreviated to “PVVC") was Morton Feldman's final composition, receiving its premiere on July 4th 1987, less than two months before the composer's death from pancreatic cancer on September 3rd. This recording of the piece dates from January 2017 at Henry Wood Hall, where it was recorded by Simon Reynell. The quartet of Mark Knoop on piano, Aisha Orazbayeva on violin, Bridget Carey on viola and Anton Lukoszevieze on cello had performed “PVVC" the previous September ...
read moreMorton Feldman: Two Pianos and other pieces, 1953-1969
It has become a truism that AMM pianist John Tilbury is an interpreter of Morton Feldman's music par excellence--one of the very best, if not the best. Such opinions are backed up by his Feldman recordings such as Morton Feldman: All Piano (LondonHALL, 1999), Triadic Memories--Notti Stellate A Vagli (Atopos, 2008) and For Philip Guston (Atopos, 2013). Developed over decades, his touch, timing and note placement make Tilbury's readings of Feldman fresh and alive--as close to definitive as one could ...
read moreMorton Feldman: Neither
Neither is not an opera in any sense of the conventionally accepted form. There is no story, a dramatis personae of just one; no mise-en-scène... and no libretto; just 87 words by the poet and playwright, Samuel Beckett, set down on a page as if it were poetry. While there is a distinct drama in the presentation of the words and music, the absence of theater is palpable. However, there is an almighty intensity that arises from the deeply emotional ...
read moreMorton Feldman: The Viola in My Life
Composer Morton Feldman (1926-1987) is most often remembered for his spare, often slow and lengthy compositions, where space is a key component. Kronos Quartet's version of Piano and String Quartet (Elektra/Nonesuch, 1991) is a prime example of the richness and depth Feldman achieved through use of space and gradual, almost imperceptible evolution. While scored, Feldman's Indeterministic or Aleatoric music--where one or more aspect of the composition is left for the artist to define (Terry Riley's “In C" is another fine ...
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