Morton Feldman (1926-1987)

[karlhenning]

Hi, Rinaldo!

Do you know Crippled Symmetries, by any chance?

[Rinaldo]

Do you know Crippled Symmetries, by any chance?

Not yet.

[Mirror Image]

I think if you're accustomed to ambient music, Feldman is very approachable – especially the "popular" pieces like Rothko Chapel (I was hooked from the opening bars; it immediately sets an intriguing atmosphere).

Listening to Coptic Light right now for the second time in a row.. mesmerizing. This is the kind of music that fires up my imagination & takes it to new, undiscovered worlds.

Rothko Chapel is a mesmerizing work and one of my favorite in this ambient type of style. Feldman is a composer, however, that I seldom think about or listen very often for the simple fact that I like a little more meat in my music than textures although it is nice to get lost in these types of sonic tapestries from time to time.

[ibanezmonster]

Rothko Chapel is a mesmerizing work and one of my favorite in this ambient type of style. Feldman is a composer, however, that I seldom think about or listen very often for the simple fact that I like a little more meat in my music than textures although it is nice to get lost in these types of sonic tapestries from time to time.

That sums up how I feel about Feldman completely.

[Mirror Image]

That sums up how I feel about Feldman completely.

Yes, I think he's an interesting composer, but interesting doesn't translate to enjoyable to listen to.

[snyprrr]

I've been listening to the 'Concertos' CPO set all night. Sometimes, only sonic wallpaper will do when I NEED the least amount of sounds, for the longest period of time, to concentrate on other things, otherwise all I'd do is... THIS!!!

[karlhenning]

Yes, I think he's an interesting composer, but interesting doesn't translate to enjoyable to listen to.

As a principle, this is true. I find it misapplied here in this thread, though, for I do simply find his music enjoyable listening.

[not edward]

As a principle, this is true. I find it misapplied here in this thread, though, for I do simply find his music enjoyable listening.

One of the things I've found most intriguing about the later Feldman is how works can be in many ways technically very similar, yet for me have a very different atmosphere: compare the claustrophobic For Samuel Beckett to the nervy For John Cage and the heavenly lengths of Triadic Memories or Piano and String Quartet.

(Actually, it occurs to me there's a similar parallel in Cage's number pieces; One2 and 101 being conventionally expressive and direct; Seventy-Four being like a soft-focus version of Scelsi; the solo violin pieces being very drawn out, with long single tones separated by silence; Sixty-Eight having huge explosions of microtonally bent single-note unisons (another Italian point of comparison here: Nono's No hay caminos, hay que caminar....); and works like Twenty-Nine with their claustrophobic intertwining of multifarious drones.)

[Bogey]

Always was a big fan of Morton "Marty" Feldman.  He made me laugh throughout Young Frankenstein.....did not know he composed music as well.



Ooops, sorry, I thought you meant Martin Feldman.

[karlhenning]

Well, I should have gone to Buffalo to study with him . . . .

[snyprrr]

Well, I should have gone to Buffalo to study with him . . . .

now get back to your copying of Brokeback

[Mirror Image]

As a principle, this is true. I find it misapplied here in this thread, though, for I do simply find his music enjoyable listening.

What do you enjoy about Feldman's music, Karl? Perhaps you can shed some light on what I'm not hearing?

[karlhenning]

What do you enjoy about Feldman's music, Karl?

Chiefly, the sound of it.  Let me think a bit, MI . . . though, really, the question sounds to me a bit like What do you enjoy about cranberry juice? . . .

[karlhenning]

What do you enjoy about Feldman's music, Karl? Perhaps you can shed some light on what I'm not hearing?

Loved Rothko Chapel, haven't bothered exploring anything else for whatever reasons.

I'd suggest Crippled Symmetries & Triadic Memories.

[Robert]

I'd suggest Crippled Symmetries & Triadic Memories.

Nice.....

[Lethevich]

I'd suggest Crippled Symmetries & Triadic Memories.

Those are two favourites. If MI is looking for more of the same, then The Viola in My Life (sometimes recorded excerpted) is quite Rothko-esque in mood and dimensions.

[Mirror Image]

I'd suggest Crippled Symmetries & Triadic Memories.

Cool Karl, do these works contain lyrical moments like those found in Rothko Chapel?

[Mirror Image]

Those are two favourites. If MI is looking for more of the same, then The Viola in My Life (sometimes recorded excerpted) is quite Rothko-esque in mood and dimensions.

Thanks, Sara. I've heard of this work, but I'll check it out.

[karlhenning]

Cool Karl, do these works contain lyrical moments like those found in Rothko Chapel?

Not sure I could answer, John. I don't particularly think of Rothko Chapel — or Feldman's work in general — as "lyrical."

[Mirror Image]

Not sure I could answer, John. I don't particularly think of Rothko Chapel — or Feldman's work in general — as "lyrical."

The last part of Rothko Chapel has a great melody, which is quoted by the viola. This gives it a lyricism that's not quite found in the rest of the work, which seems to revolve more around texture. I love the harmonic backdrop that supports this melody. If I'm not mistaken, this melody is something he heard as a child in church or something to this effect.