Morton Feldman was born 79 years ago today. Let him speak for himself: “What I am after is somewhat like Mondrian not wanting to paint bouquets, but a single flower.”
Our evening begins with a brief Concerto for Two Trumpets by Johann Melchior Molter. Then it is Suites for the sweet: Peter Walrlock’s “Capriol Suite,” Thomas Dunhill’s “Lyric Suite,” and the beloved “Holberg Suite” by Edvard Grieg. Jean-Baptiste Lully’s “Le bourgeouis gentilhomme”—another suite, but this time for the comédie-ballet of the 1670 French court—begins our second hour in a period performance by Le Concert des Nations under Jordi Savall. Antonin Dvorak’s “Serenade in E” brings us into the late 19th century, Myung-Whun Chung conducting the Vienna Philharmonic.
Filling most of the evening’s second half is Morton Feldman’s Piano and String Quartet, composed in 1985, two years before his death. The work exemplifies what Mark Swed says in his note for this recording by the Kronos Quartet with pianist Aki Takahashi: Feldman “wrote a music of refined, exquisite, prismatic beauty unlike any other, a music of floating tone and mesmeric harmony and gorgeous sounds, surrounded by eloquent, mysterious silences.”
Our evening begins with a brief Concerto for Two Trumpets by Johann Melchior Molter. Then it is Suites for the sweet: Peter Walrlock’s “Capriol Suite,” Thomas Dunhill’s “Lyric Suite,” and the beloved “Holberg Suite” by Edvard Grieg. Jean-Baptiste Lully’s “Le bourgeouis gentilhomme”—another suite, but this time for the comédie-ballet of the 1670 French court—begins our second hour in a period performance by Le Concert des Nations under Jordi Savall. Antonin Dvorak’s “Serenade in E” brings us into the late 19th century, Myung-Whun Chung conducting the Vienna Philharmonic.
Filling most of the evening’s second half is Morton Feldman’s Piano and String Quartet, composed in 1985, two years before his death. The work exemplifies what Mark Swed says in his note for this recording by the Kronos Quartet with pianist Aki Takahashi: Feldman “wrote a music of refined, exquisite, prismatic beauty unlike any other, a music of floating tone and mesmeric harmony and gorgeous sounds, surrounded by eloquent, mysterious silences.”
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.