Thoughts on Feldman orchestral music, anyone? Seems his chamber music gets the vast majority of the attention. I just picked up this:
Only heard Flute and Orchestra thus far. Pretty nice, if a little episodic. Considering how spacious Feldman can make three instruments sound (or even just one), it should come as no surprise that this music is absolutely massive, maybe too much so. I guess the emphasis on the soloist (whose part sounds quite simple) kind of keeps the music anchored to the ground.
I've always been more into Feldman's chamber/solo works than orchestral, but that's my general preference, not just Feldman.
This cpo set was the first Feldman recording I bought. It's early, premieres or close, recorded (1970s) well before the "Feldman boom".
I think the set is pretty good but not a barn-burner. More recent recordings would likely be preferable, but iirc this box contains the only available recording of at least one of the pieces. [Added: This is the only recording of "Flute + O" I know of. There was an Argo CD with "Cello" and "Piano" and a Hat Art CD entitled
Atlantis with "Oboe". But these do seem under-recorded compared to much of Feldman's oeuvre.
]
In the orchestral genre, these "instrument + orchestra" pieces seem to get far less attention than
Coptic Light,
Rothko Chapel, etc. I haven't listened to the various works often enough to opine on the justification for that. OTOH, I like Zender and Palm and consider Woodward always worth hearing, so don't regret my purchase.
