Leeway Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Kyle Gann - In Dispraise of Efficiency: Feldman . Happened across the article by Kyle Gann article on the web and was going to post a link, then discovered 7/4 had already posted it (not surprised and thanks!). It is an excellent article.and worth bringing to the forefront again. I like this little snippet: One of the most important stories in 20th-century music is the famous one in which Cage asked the young Feldman how one of his pieces was written. Feldman weakly replied that he didn't know how it was written, and Cage jumped up and down squealing like a monkey and shouting, "Isn't that wonderful! It's so beautiful, and he doesn't know how he did it." That story alone is enough to mark the private onset of a new historical era. Also: One of my favorite stories Feldman liked to tell was of Marcel Duchamp visiting an art class in San Francisco, where he saw a young man wildly painting away. Duchamp went over and asked, "What are you doing?" The young man said, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing!" And Duchamp patted him on the back and said, "Keep up the good work." In music, it was Feldman, more than anyone else, who gave us permission not to know what the fuck we were doing. Read the rest of the article at the link. Finished Feldman's GIVE MY REGARDS TO EIGHT STREET. Filled with insights, humor and personality. Brooklyn meets high art. Brooklyn wins. BTW, I went to NYU and spent many an hour trooping up and down Eight Street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Kyle Gann - In Dispraise of Efficiency: Feldman . Happened across the article by Kyle Gann article on the web and was going to post a link, then discovered 7/4 had already posted it (not surprised and thanks!). It is an excellent article.and worth bringing to the forefront again. I like this little snippet: One of the most important stories in 20th-century music is the famous one in which Cage asked the young Feldman how one of his pieces was written. Feldman weakly replied that he didn't know how it was written, and Cage jumped up and down squealing like a monkey and shouting, "Isn't that wonderful! It's so beautiful, and he doesn't know how he did it." That story alone is enough to mark the private onset of a new historical era. Also: One of my favorite stories Feldman liked to tell was of Marcel Duchamp visiting an art class in San Francisco, where he saw a young man wildly painting away. Duchamp went over and asked, "What are you doing?" The young man said, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing!" And Duchamp patted him on the back and said, "Keep up the good work." In music, it was Feldman, more than anyone else, who gave us permission not to know what the fuck we were doing. Read the rest of the article at the link. Finished Feldman's GIVE MY REGARDS TO EIGHT STREET. Filled with insights, humor and personality. Brooklyn meets high art. Brooklyn wins. BTW, I went to NYU and spent many an hour trooping up and down Eight Street. Feldman knew what he was doing, even if at some points he discovered what he was doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Kyle Gann - In Dispraise of Efficiency: Feldman . Happened across the article by Kyle Gann article on the web and was going to post a link, then discovered 7/4 had already posted it (not surprised and thanks!). It is an excellent article.and worth bringing to the forefront again. I like this little snippet: One of the most important stories in 20th-century music is the famous one in which Cage asked the young Feldman how one of his pieces was written. Feldman weakly replied that he didn't know how it was written, and Cage jumped up and down squealing like a monkey and shouting, "Isn't that wonderful! It's so beautiful, and he doesn't know how he did it." That story alone is enough to mark the private onset of a new historical era. Also: One of my favorite stories Feldman liked to tell was of Marcel Duchamp visiting an art class in San Francisco, where he saw a young man wildly painting away. Duchamp went over and asked, "What are you doing?" The young man said, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing!" And Duchamp patted him on the back and said, "Keep up the good work." In music, it was Feldman, more than anyone else, who gave us permission not to know what the fuck we were doing. Read the rest of the article at the link. Finished Feldman's GIVE MY REGARDS TO EIGHT STREET. Filled with insights, humor and personality. Brooklyn meets high art. Brooklyn wins. BTW, I went to NYU and spent many an hour trooping up and down Eight Street. Feldman knew what he was doing, even if at some points he discovered what he was doing. Yes, by no means was he some untutored "primitive" ( I use the word advisedly), but he preferred instinct to system, practice to theory, artist to "professional." I think Gann lays that out pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 There is a new Morton Feldman release out on Mode Records. Feldman Edition 11 “Orchestra” Intersection I (1951) Structures (1962) On Time and the Instrumental Factor (1969) Voice and Instruments (1972) Martha Cluver, soprano Orchestra (1976) Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin Brad Lubman, conductor Link to Mode Records: Feldman Anyone have any familiarity with either the music or this particular album? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted January 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 All are first recordings...{shrug}...I'm not familiar with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 All are first recordings...{shrug}...I'm not familiar with them. Those are good enough reasons for me to pick it up; nothing ventured..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted January 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 oh I'll get it, wouldn't want a gap in my Mode collection + I'm not familiar with these. I wasn't paying attention, I didn't know it was out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alppila Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Just wanted to mention this one from http://frozenreeds.com/?p=21 ... Morton Feldman – Crippled Symmetry: at June in Buffalo In 2000, Eberhard Blum, Nils Vigeland, and Jan Williams came together once more as “The Feldman Soloists” to perform Crippled Symmetry, the trio Feldman composed for them, on the 25th anniversary celebration of the festival he founded. The recording of this concert is now finally available on CD, and is destined to become the reference release of this work. Required listening for all fans of Feldman’s rich, hypnotic world of enigmatic harmony and mnemonic echo. Mastered by Denis Blackham, and presented in a card package which unfolds to reveal the musicians’ “butterfly-like” arrangement on stage. “This turned out to be one of the best performances that we had ever given together. The rare and indescribable ‘magic moment’ of occasion and ambience seems to have inspired us. The recording of the concert belongs to my most valued sound documents. When I listened to it for the first time, my immediate reaction was: this performance ought to be available on CD. Now, ten years later, it is.” -Eberhard Blum The Feldman Soloists: Eberhard Blum (flute, alto flute, bass flute) Jan Williams (glockenspiel, vibraphone) Nils Vigeland (piano, celesta) Double CD set in slim card package. Catalogue number: fr1/2 Barcode: 6419369992613 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Д.Д. Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Just wanted to mention this one from http://frozenreeds.com/?p=21 ... Thanks, ordered me a copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alppila Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) Just wanted to mention this one from http://frozenreeds.com/?p=21 ... Thanks, ordered me a copy. Any good? Edited August 9, 2012 by alppila Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Д.Д. Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 Just wanted to mention this one from http://frozenreeds.com/?p=21 ... Thanks, ordered me a copy. Any good? Listened to it twice, not very attentively - not sure what to make out of it yet. So far, this seems like the least interesting Feldman I've heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsMobley Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 Feldman was a compulsive bullshit artist-- that's part of his CHARM mind you but the idea that all or even much of his work is "profound" is silly. As Larry Kart says, Morty knew what he was doing and some (lots) of the time it was more interesting to do it than to heat it let alone ponder it. Bonus points for cigarettes and tapestries but the idea that there people who've listened to more Morton Feldman than Fritz Delius or Ferrucio Busoni is absurd and nauseating both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 Are you taking a piss behind that barn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted August 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 some people just don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsMobley Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 A typical reaction from Feldman cultists not actually well versed in the western classical tradition Feldman is an extension/refinement/dead end of. Feldman is fine, he did a few things well, had an excellent sense of humor in person and though confident/arrogant like many composers was also a good natured huckster who could compare himself to Beethoven AND Delius depending on the audience... That 99.999999% of people interested in music, western classical or otherwise, need to follow Morty around in circles is silly; a small handful of works from each period suffices and though the Mode series, like it's Cage series, is admirable cf. a documentary procedure, the idea that it's all "interesting" let alone "important' is nonsense and people REALLY interested are better off reading the scores. leo ornstein >>>>> opus clavicembalisticum >>>> for bunita marcus though good luck finding Feldman fanatics who've even tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 Feldman was a compulsive bullshit artist-- that's part of his CHARM mind you but the idea that all or even much of his work is "profound" is silly. As Larry Kart says, Morty knew what he was doing and some (lots) of the time it was more interesting to do it than to heat it let alone ponder it. Bonus points for cigarettes and tapestries but the idea that there people who've listened to more Morton Feldman than Fritz Delius or Ferrucio Busoni is absurd and nauseating both. When did I say that? While I'm not a Feldman completist, I do have a lot of Feldman, and everything I have (if the performance is good one) I'm very glad I have. Exceptions would be most of the late orchestral "tapestry" pieces. The problem there may be Feldman, and it may be me, but I suspect it's the performances -- that for those pieces to work, at least for me, the performances need to be exquisite (for want of a better term) to a degree that most existing orchestras and conductors aren't going to realize. But perhaps in due time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsMobley Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) Just the part about his knowing what he's doing... If I take "exquisite" to mean concentrated + brilliant than sure that's necessary but again, why bother (not why patterns) for that long? A sampling of representative Feldman will do most people well but once your attuned to Feldman, I'd argue someone like Szymanowski and Delius gives you so so so much more. Granted there are some hardcore "minimalist" advocates who don't WANT more (or only want maximal minimalism a la Morty) but a good chunk of the Feldman cult is comprised of dimwit "rockers" (sic) who found in Feldman a music comfortably dull but quieter. Unless you got/need time to kill, you can get 97% of what Feldman has to offer in those mega chamber pieces from Working Out With The Barney Kessel Quartet and Edgard Varese. Edited August 9, 2012 by MomsMobley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Just the part about his knowing what he's doing... If I take "exquisite" to mean concentrated + brilliant than sure that's necessary but again, why bother (not why patterns) for that long? A sampling of representative Feldman will do most people well but once your attuned to Feldman, I'd argue someone like Szymanowski and Delius gives you so so so much more. Granted there are some hardcore "minimalist" advocates who don't WANT more (or only want maximal minimalism a la Morty) but a good chunk of the Feldman cult is comprised of dimwit "rockers" (sic) who found in Feldman a music comfortably dull but quieter. Unless you got/need time to kill, you can get 97% of what Feldman has to offer in those mega chamber pieces from Working Out With The Barney Kessel Quartet and Edgard Varese. Because it's been my experience, for the most part, that "for that long" is a significant part of the overall musical/aesthetic effect. Also, as far as I'm concerned, "minimalism" (or Minimalism) has nothing to do with it, nor with anything that Feldman meant or had in mind. Don't know if Morty himself ever recorded his opinions about any of the Minimalism we've come to know as such, but I'd be surprised if he found it anything but annoying and/or simple-minded. And IMO anyone who thinks that Morty's music is simple-minded is ... you know the rest. P.S. about "for that long"-- Do you think Bruckner symphonies should be shorter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsMobley Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) As an expert Brucknerian I'll admit that's a fair question but I'll also say we could listen to a Celibidache 8th* THREE TIMES in a row for as long as the most bloated Morty pieces... Even a Knappertsbusch "Parsifal"! And yes duration is its special bag (pace Sorabji too), just because one can... doesn't mean one needs to, beyond the test of doing so. (At least in tantric sex you can cum multiple times as in "Tristan und Isolde.") That's athleticism, and sorta 'impressive' in its way but even Coltrane c. "Live in Japan" ran out of jellybeans. I don't know how your prostate is doing but I feel more comfortable letting it flow earlier than later. I agree Morty is closer to Faure-meets-Babar than the 'minimalist' shuck he's lumped with; the Poulenc influence in his work is also under-recognized, appreciated. * none of which would be my favorite Just the part about his knowing what he's doing... If I take "exquisite" to mean concentrated + brilliant than sure that's necessary but again, why bother (not why patterns) for that long? A sampling of representative Feldman will do most people well but once your attuned to Feldman, I'd argue someone like Szymanowski and Delius gives you so so so much more. Granted there are some hardcore "minimalist" advocates who don't WANT more (or only want maximal minimalism a la Morty) but a good chunk of the Feldman cult is comprised of dimwit "rockers" (sic) who found in Feldman a music comfortably dull but quieter. Unless you got/need time to kill, you can get 97% of what Feldman has to offer in those mega chamber pieces from Working Out With The Barney Kessel Quartet and Edgard Varese. Because it's been my experience, for the most part, that "for that long" is a significant part of the overall musical/aesthetic effect. Also, as far as I'm concerned, "minimalism" (or Minimalism) has nothing to do with it, nor with anything that Feldman meant or had in mind. Don't know if Morty himself ever recorded his opinions about any of the Minimalism we've come to know as such, but I'd be surprised if he found it anything but annoying and/or simple-minded. And IMO anyone who thinks that Morty's music is simple-minded is ... you know the rest. P.S. about "for that long"-- Do you think Bruckner symphonies should be shorter? Edited August 10, 2012 by MomsMobley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Sorabji - Ogdon is unavailable, it seems ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted July 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 Morton Feldman's Rothko Chapel performed by the Seattle Modern Orchestra, Julia Tai (conductor), Melia Watras (viola), Stephen Olsen (celesta), Brian Yarkovsky (percussion) and Sarah Marroquin (soprano). Recorded live at the Chapel Performance Space, Seattle, WA on May 19, 2012. Videography by Bill Mohn and Matt Holmes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertoart Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ligeti Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 (edited) Morton Feldman is indeed fantastic, and yes important. Of course, like everyone else, some might not appreciate it, but that's to be expected. As a fan, I obviously think you're missing out. It strikes me as rather silly to talk of "cults" when it comes a group of people who happen to appreciate an artist. This is a music forum, no? I assume it's full of people who know what they like, and what they don't like. No cults, just appreciation. There's nothing clever in hating. Anyway, I didn't post in here just to tut tut about some over-zealous hating. No. I posted to say I'm surprised no-one has mentioned my own favorite Feldman recording: It's long at 70+ minutes, and serene. You've been warned. Edited November 11, 2014 by Ligeti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted August 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 It's a beautiful piece! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvantHard Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 Hey 7/4, thanks for the article ! Feldman is one of my favorite modernists, and was quite enlightening reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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