{"title":"Other Morton Feldman Releases","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"morton-feldman-two-pianos-and-other-pieces-1953-1969-john-tilbury-philip-thomas","title":"Morton Feldman","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eDisc One:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTwo Pianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1957)\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e10:00\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eJohn Tilbury \u0026amp; PhilipThomas,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e2.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eFour Instruments\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1965)  11:58\u003cbr\u003e    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eJohn Tilbury\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epiano,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAnton Lukoszevieze\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003ecello,\u003cspan\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e    Mira Benjamin\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eviolin,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRodrigo Constanzo\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003echimes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e3.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eVertical Thoughts 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1963) 7:58\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e    John Tilbury \u0026amp; Philip Thomas,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003epianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e4.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eBetween Categories\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e (1969)  11:44\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   John Tilbury \u0026amp; Philip Thomas\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epianos,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAnton Lukoszevieze \u0026amp; Seth Woods\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003ecellos,\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   Mira Benjamin \u0026amp; Linda Jankowska\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eviolins,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRodrigo Constanzo \u0026amp; Taneli Clarke\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003echimes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e5.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003ePiece for Four Pianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1957)   14:37\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   John Tilbury, Philip Thomas, Catherine Laws \u0026amp; Mark Knoop,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e6.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003ePiano Four Hands\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e (1958)   7:43\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e    John Tilbury \u0026amp; Philip Thomas  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epiano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eDisc Two:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e1.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eIntermission 6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C18\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e (1953)    3:05\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   John Tilbury \u0026amp; Philip Thomas,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e2.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eDe Kooning\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C23\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1963)    12:51\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   Philip Thomas  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epiano and celesta,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAnton Lukoszevieze  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003ecello,  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e   Mira Benjamin     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eviolin,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eTaneli Clarke  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epercussion,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eNaomi Atherton  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003ehorn\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e3 - 4.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTwo Pieces for Three Pianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1966)   17:56\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e           John Tilbury, Philip Thomas and Catherine Laws,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e5.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003ePiano Three Hands\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C24\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1957)    11:06\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e    John Tilbury \u0026amp; Philip Thomas  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epiano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e6.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eFalse Relationships and the Extended Ending\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C1\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1968)    16:25\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e    John Tilbury, Philip Thomas, Catherine Laws\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epianos,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eAnton Lukoszevieze\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003ecello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e    \u003cbr\u003e    Mira Benjamin\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eviolin,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eRodrigo Constanzo\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003echimes,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e\u0026amp;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eBarrie Webb  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003e trombone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e7.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003eTwo Pianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003esecond version  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e(1957)   9:23\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003e    John Tilbury \u0026amp; Philip Thomas,  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003epianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/feldman_2_975289c9-7b84-4aae-bbe9-6c26b84ac0aa_480x480.jpg?v=1751743010\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C7\"\u003eNotes on Morton Feldman’s ‘Two Pianos'\u003cbr\u003eby Philip Thomas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe music featured on these two discs testifies to the intensity of Feldman’s experimentation with notation and sound during the 1950s and 60s. Considering the works chronologically one senses the composer trying out, teasing and developing means of notation to get close to his desired elasticity of time and duration. His experiments with indeterminacy of pitch – whereby Feldman specified only the register (high, middle, low) of sound rather than the exact notes themselves – do not feature here; after trying this method in a series of works in the early 1950s he abandoned the technique, with a few notable exceptions straying into the 1960s, because he was too ‘attached’ to the pitches he wanted.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eAll notes are specified exactly in the pieces on these discs – the experiments are instead with duration and time. Durations of sounds are variously free, dependent upon the decay of the sound, worked out in coordination with other players, as well as at times exactly and complexly notated within a specific tempo. Sometimes the freedoms of notating time are worked through in combination with listening closely to the sounds of other players, allowing patterns to emerge without forcing the situation, whilst at other times different ways of notating time are combined, creating false alignments in the score and thus placing greater emphasis upon the individual performer’s journey.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe piano is an inherently indeterminate instrument - any given note will have a very different afterlife dependent upon the touch of the performer, the register of the note, the type and size of the piano, the acoustic of the space in which the piano is situated, and so forth. Put six or seven of these notes together as a chord and the situation becomes complex. In all these pieces Feldman specifies the dynamics to be quiet, or as quiet as possible, or very quiet. However the notion that Feldman’s music is ‘about’ quiet-ness is a misconception: the subject is sound, and in order for that subject to be properly attended to those sounds are quiet. The range of pieces presented here depict very many different types of quietness – from the delicate sounds of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiano Three Hands\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiano Four Hands\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eto the massed complexities of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eTwo Pieces for Three Pianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e. Quietness in Feldman’s piano music is a performance instruction which is everything to do with touch and the desire to really\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003ehear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethe instrument. As such these recordings are a celebration of the piano (its tone and its decay) and piano playing, for all its frustrations and challenges – an instrument which is at the heart of Feldman’s music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eThe earliest work recorded here is\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eIntermission 6\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1953), for one or two pianos. The score consists of a single page of music across which are scattered fragments: single notes, chords, the occasional ‘grace’ note, using the range of the keyboard, all redolent of Feldman’s harmonic and pitch sensibility. The performers move through these in any order, a rare freedom within Feldman’s music, and one which he was not to make use of again.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiece for 4 pianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1957) introduces a notational and formal procedure which proved to be considerably more fruitful, influencing works composed even twenty years later. All four pianists read from the same single page of score but move through it at their own pace. Thus the sequence of sounds remains constant but the duration of each sound is entirely free (within the parameter of ‘slow’). The resultant shimmering effect, as the four pianists variously play the same chord, sometimes with reiterations, pre-empts aspects of later minimalism, and indeed the performance process is not entirely dissimilar from that of Terry Riley’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eIn C\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ecomposed a mere seven years later.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eTwo Pianos\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1957) and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiano Four Hands\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1958) were composed within eighteen months of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiece for 4 pianos.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe former follows exactly the same procedure as\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiece for 4 pianos\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ewhilst\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiano Four Hands\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eassigns different material to each pianist, but maintains the principle of moving through the material independently.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiano Three Hands\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e, also composed in 1957, is distinct, consisting of regular, albeit slow, moving events, recalling an earlier work for solo piano,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePiano Piece 1952\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eA group of five works, each with the title\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eDurations,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecomposed during 1960-61, explore this compositional device further and to great effect. Yet at the same time Feldman was exploring other ways of dealing with duration and time, perhaps the result of unsatisfactory performances of these other works. In solo works he investigated options for making use of stemless noteheads, combined with pauses, to obtain a music free of metred time, though in some works combining this technique with more strictly notated music, as if to compare resultant performances of both notations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eIn ensemble works he combined the stemless noteheads with a means of notating sequences of sounds in relation to other instruments, so that the end of one instrument’s sound cues the beginning of another instrument’s sound. It is quite possible that Feldman was in this way influenced by the new ‘cue-ing’ notations of his friend Christian Wolff, in pieces such as\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eDuet II\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1961) and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eFor Five or Ten People\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1962). Works featured on these recordings notated in this way are\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eDe Kooning\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1963),\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eVertical Thoughts I\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1963) and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eFour Instruments\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1965), each of which are characterised by a sparseness of sound due to the predominance of sounds played in sequence rather than as vertical masses.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eTwo Pieces for Three Pianos\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1966) is a transitional and quite remarkable work. The first piece combines two different notation types: the first and second pianos read only stemless noteheads, with the instruction to play each event once the decay of the previous event has begun; the third piano part is fully notated with very precise durations, metre and ever-changing tempi. Each player follows their own part dogmatically – there is very little room for listening and responding to the other players. The texture is extremely dense, consisting of predominantly thick chromatic chords in all three pianos which gradually thin out toward the end of the piece. There is no coordination and the piece thus ends sparsely as the pianos ‘drop out’ and the first two pianists play high and delicate events. The second piece is more coordinated, mostly using the form of notation and sequence used in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eVertical Thoughts I,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecombining stemless noteheads with occasional metred and rhythmically precise notation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eFalse Relationships and the Extended Ending\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1968) and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eBetween Categories\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e(1969) are perhaps the two most extraordinary works featured here if considering the notational characteristics alone. Feldman divides the ensemble into two smaller ensembles: violin\/trombone\/piano and cello\/chimes\/2 pianos (toward the end subdivided further as chimes\/piano and cello\/piano) in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eFalse Relationships…\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e; and two equal ensembles of violin\/cello\/chimes\/piano in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eBetween Categories.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe two ensembles in both pieces follow a mixture of notations, variously strictly notated, with changing tempi, and stemless noteheads, played in sequence and as simultaneities. Whilst the ensembles are notated synchronously on the page, one above the other, at any point in time one ensemble may actually be reading from one, two or possibly three pages apart from the other. Even when both ensembles look on the page as if they are notated similarly, with matching bar lines, on closer look the reader will notice that the time signatures and tempi markings of one ensemble are entirely different from the other. It is as if Feldman is playing some kind of visual game which bears no relation to the aural result. However, the music is very carefully thought out, and where one ensemble appears to be significantly adrift from the other in terms of the notated score, it is more than likely that the gap will close at some later point and the ensembles become more aligned aurally. Whilst none of this is apparent to the listener, at the same time it is clear that there are some very definite periods of harmonic synchronicity, and other times where the ensembles feel to be quite separate. Likewise, certain ideas and pitches are tossed between ensembles, giving the impression of precisely coordinated events when in actuality the detail of such imitative patterns is the result of performance-based chance, albeit one which occurs within a meticulously planned framework.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eFeldman was not to return to these techniques. The works which followed, in the early 1970s, are more traditionally and simply notated, serving different compositional aims and agendas. The complexity of these late 1960s works is echoed in the extraordinary and bafflingly notated works of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Feldman’s experiments with notation, decay, duration and ensemble continued until the end of his life, but always with an attentive ear and technical mastery which heightens the ungraspable and transitory qualities of sound.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003ePhilip Thomas, October 2014\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Morton-Feldman_480x480.jpg?v=1751743043\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003eReview\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e“The magic is to make sounds out of pitches” Morton Feldman suggested in Darmstadt in 1984. To grasp what that might mean in practice, simply listen to ‘Piece for Four Pianos’ played by John Tilbury, Philip Thomas, Catherine Laws and Mark Knoop. This composition from 1957 is notated as to pitch, but Feldman left it open to performers to take the same single page score at their own chosen pace, allowing the mercurial qualities of personal touch, sensitivity to each note’s decay, the acoustic properties of the hall, idiosyncrasies of a particular instrument and other factors unspecified by the composer to work audible magic. Tilbury and Thomas act as the hub for this entire collection, combining their distinct yet equally refined interpretative identities in a series of duets, and within mixed chamber groups involving fine musicians such as cellist Anton lukoszevieze and violinist Mira Benjamin. These exploratory works, from Intermission 6 (1953) to between Categories (1969), form a compendium of spellbinding sounds.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJulian Cowley\u003c\/strong\u003e, The Wire, February 2015\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51401040986426,"sku":"at81 x 2","price":18.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at81x2_Feldman_Two_Pianos.jpg?v=1751742229"},{"product_id":"morton-feldman-piano-violin-viola-cello","title":"Morton Feldman","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eMark Knoop - piano       Aisha Orazbayeva - violin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eBridget Carey - viola      Anton Lukoszevieze - cello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C10\"\u003eTotal Time: 73:50\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C12\"\u003eJack Sheen interviews Mark Knoop\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eHow did you come to know this piece — Feldman’s last complete work — and how did this project\/recording come about?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI’ve been slowly working through the late Feldman works over the past 10 years or so, including several performances of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eFor John Cage\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewith Aisha Orazbayeva, and she suggested we do\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003ePiano, Violin, Viola, Cello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eat a Café Oto gig in September last year. The concert turned out to be on one of the hottest days of the year and was an exhaustingly wonderful experience of combined concentration from both audience and performers in a sweltering Café Oto. Shortly afterwards, Simon Reynell mentioned that he would like to record the piece, which we did on one of the coldest days in early January!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eI think the OTO performance was actually on the hottest day of 2016. How was that experience in OTO musically, and how did returning to the piece feel? How do repeat performances change the work for you?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI always like returning to things after a first performance as there are some aspects of the music which can only reveal themselves\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003ein\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eperformance, no matter how much rehearsal is done. Particularly in music such as this where half-remembered repetition plays such an important role, the experience of an audience reacting to a recapitulatory moment, or to the shift to a different texture, is an important way of gauging the flow of the music. Do I need to mark this moment differently? Should I voice this chord in another way? Repeat performances feed into the creation of an ever-changing framework of memories which can then initiate new musical connections.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eAs a performer, one of the challenges of this piece must be its length and having to sustain such a concentrated, delicate sound for so long. How did you and the rest of the players cope with this in both preparation and performance?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eConcentration is of course always a challenge in works of this length, I’m not sure I know how to prepare for that other than experiencing it. These works are great at highlighting any problems with physical technique: any tensions will be amplified and exacerbated without the opportunity for release provided by loud, fast music. This is undoubtedly much harder for the string players.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eFor a listener, the length and economy of this piece seems to remove what I would call the ‘structural points’ commonly found in a piece of more traditional music. There are no obvious introductions, transitions, climaxes etc. Is this something that you also experienced as a performer?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eWhilst it’s true that the piece doesn’t exhibit an obvious formal structure, I think this is possibly less true of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003ePiano, Violin, Viola, Cello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethan some of the other late Feldman pieces, including\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003ePiano and String Quartet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e, which is perhaps a good comparison. Feldman claimed he didn’t plan the forms of these works, but whether it was conscious or not, there is a sense to me of a honing of control of these structures throughout the 1980s. Material is introduced and developed, then set aside only to return, refreshed by its absence. Textural panels occasionally abut with clean edges, but more often blur or fade across each other such that we arrive in quite different musical situations almost without realising it. And in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003ePiano, Violin, Viola, Cello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e Feldman’s micro-variations occasionally result in an almost functional harmony.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eDo you have any particular moments that for you act as pivotal or culminatory in any way?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThere are several gestures that act a bit in this way, although those terms seem too strong. Rather than pivots initiating a change of direction, they are perhaps milestones indicating progress along a meandering but singular path. The introduction of the small motif which finally ends the piece does have a sense of foreboding for me.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eIf those phrases are too strong, perhaps ‘moments which outline a formal structure’. What patterns or shapes on a larger level appear to you when performing this piece?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI think I sometimes experience the piece as panels of different colours; perhaps a too obvious analogy would be the Rothko colour field paintings. Sometimes the boundaries are blurred, sometimes more distinct, and the panels may be of very close shades. Unlike visual art of course, it’s much more difficult to gauge an overall view of a piece of music, it can only be experienced as it happens.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eSimilarly, people often talk about ‘getting lost’ through the real and imagined repetition that lies at the heart of the piece and how its pacing can change our perception of time passing. Do you see this as something to fight against when performing this music, or is it perhaps something to embrace and allow to affect the music?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eIt’s absolutely part of the music. Feldman’s comment about the difference between form and scale defines that boundary at one hour, but I think that for an audience the knowledge that a piece will last 75 minutes affects listening from the start. After 10 minutes we could be anywhere. I’ve frequently been told by people that the end came as a surprise.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eHow does this affect you — and thus the music — whilst actually playing the piece?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eBeyond preparation? In performance we just have a job to do. There are challenges of concentration and control, but even the most engaged audience member will experience time passing in a very different way to the performers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003ePeople often speak about an intimacy between the audience, the performers, and the sound when performing Feldman, especially the longer late works. Perhaps this is something to do with the focus required to produce and register such fragile sounds for so long. Is this something you experienced in the live performances you’ve done, and if so, how is this mediated through the studio recording?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eYes, often. Of course recording is a very different situation. We have to recall that audience energy from live performance and refocus it in the studio.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eHow do you feel Feldman’s late works resonate within experimental\/contemporary music today, and more directly with other composers you have worked with?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eIt is undoubtedly music which continues to have a strong impact on composers, and I think it has many lessons for composers regardless of aesthetic. Feldman’s handling of harmony\/tonality and form\/scale in particular are so individual and accomplished.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eThere is an unfortunate tendency for any soft, vaguely cellular music to be labelled as “Feldmanesque” which I feel often misrepresents both Feldman and the recipient — I’ve heard the term applied to many composers whose music is really dealing with remarkably different ideas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eSomething I find fascinating about certain composers is how they reassess virtuosity. Clearly \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C19\"\u003ePiano, Violin, Viola, Cello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003e is far from being a fast, ‘showy’ piece, but how if at all — is this idea of virtuosity explored or expressed in the piece, both by the composer and the performers?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eI think virtuosity is a term which approaches meaninglessness: clearly it must be differentiated both from difficulty (as a quality of the piece), and success (in terms of execution). What is difficult? All music is difficult, all music is easy. What defines a successful performance? All performances are successful, all performances are failures. I don’t know, I just play the music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C14\"\u003eDo you feel like there is a performance practice growing around Feldman? If so, how do you feel about this?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003eWell I think we have now reached a point where a greater number of performers are playing Feldman and approaching the music from other angles and performance traditions. So if anything, I sense that the practice might be starting to develop and proliferate — and that’s a good thing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/feldman_2_480x480.jpg?v=1751660106\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eReviews\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e“Another Timbre has been contributing excellent recordings to the rapidly expanding universe of what might still be called “Classical” music, and nowhere more convincingly than in the shimmering beautiful tapestries woven by Morton Feldman. The label’s double set of Feldman’s earlier piano works would be an excellent place to begin for anyone wishing to slide into familiarity with his work, as it’s wonderfully performed by John Tilbury and Philip Thomas. Pianist Mark Knoop, violinist Aisha Orazbayeva, violist Bridget Carey and cellist Anton Lukoszevieze now put their collective wit and grace into a rendering of Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello; they give a performance of rapt concentration and emotive depth, rivaling and often surpassing any currently available.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003ePiano, Violin, Viola, Cello, hereafter PVVC, was the composer’s final published work, but to say that it is typical of his late-period compositions is to sell its individuality short. Much is made of Feldman’s penchant for repetition, and his music is sometimes dismissed for it, but for those immersed in Feldman’s vast canvases, each is a labyrinth of non-linear landmarks slowly revealed, connected non-teleologies that still result in a narrative. Tone, chord and the points at which they meet circumvent while intersecting, the material developing in a kind of slow dance of gradual familiarity and reminiscence. The soft dynamic level makes it all a very intimate experience. True, allegiance to influences as disparate as Debussy and Webern are everywhere, but they are also magically and continuously thwarted, so that they must be sought out to be heard at all. Pointillism is there, something approaching traditional harmonic cadence is also present, but no standard resolution or drama on either front is forthcoming.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eThere is a palpable sense in which Knoop and company get PVVC absolutely right. The closest version to this one comes from the Bridge label, released in 2015, but the new disc presents a more unified string sound, even though single notes regularly traverse the sound stage. It is as if string clusters produce tones not in the score, such is the intimacy and concentration achieved by these three musicians. Those clusters often take center stage, while Knoop’s piano is recorded wide-screen, in such a way as to embrace the strings. His sensitive rendering of the score is caught in a way that is simultaneously close but recessed, giving the whole a three-dimensional presence that reveals Feldman’s blocks of quasi-development in Technicolor.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eMaybe it’s the recording that separates this version from the others I’ve heard. It certainly has the unity of a performance, though its spatial characteristics seem to exist outside of any single performance environment. The room disappears, and the music is left to unfold, offering a very different picture when switching from headphones to speakers. This, in combination with excellent musicianship, makes this version of PVVC a model for Feldman study and for future recorded performances of his works.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMarc Medwin\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eDusted\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e“All music is difficult, all music is easy. What defines a successful performance?” Pianist Mark Knoop points out a paradox that applies to most of Morton Feldman’s works, with their endless expanses of calm, tormented beauty. How to clinch the lack of obvious direction without grinding to a halt? How to find the right space and zen in music that requires intense concentration? In the case of Feldman’s last work, this quartet from 1987, how to make 75 minutes of sun-bleached dissonance unfold in one long breath without aurally asphyxiating your listeners?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eWhat is needed is virtuosic simplicity, the toughest trick in the book, and Knoop gets it with violinist Aisha Orazbayeva, violist Bridget Carey and cellist Anton Lukoszevieze. Their sound is wan and focused; their pacing tiptoes the line between tense and breezy. The music keeps moving like a little boat on a dead-flat lake: the ripples are minute, but they are still there.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C20\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKate Molleson\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C21\"\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51428509057338,"sku":"at113","price":11.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at113feldman.jpg?v=1749637496"},{"product_id":"morton-feldman-piano-philip-thomas","title":"Morton Feldman Piano","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc One\u003c\/strong\u003e:  \u003cbr\u003e1-4 \u003cstrong\u003eLast Pieces\u003c\/strong\u003e (1959)     5 \u003cstrong\u003ePiano\u003c\/strong\u003e (1977)     6 \u003cstrong\u003ePalais de Mari\u003c\/strong\u003e (1986)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc Two:\u003c\/strong\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e1 \u003cstrong\u003eUntitled piano piece\u003c\/strong\u003e (194?) **   2-5 \u003cstrong\u003eIllusions\u003c\/strong\u003e (1949)   6-8 \u003cstrong\u003eThree Dances\u003c\/strong\u003e (1950)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e9-13 \u003cstrong\u003eNature Pieces\u003c\/strong\u003e (1951)   14 \u003cstrong\u003eVariations\u003c\/strong\u003e (1951)   15-16 \u003cstrong\u003eTwo Intermissions\u003c\/strong\u003e (1950)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e17 \u003cstrong\u003eIntermission 3\u003c\/strong\u003e (1951)   18 \u003cstrong\u003eIntermission 4\u003c\/strong\u003e (1952)  19 \u003cstrong\u003eIntersection 2\u003c\/strong\u003e (1951)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e20-22 \u003cstrong\u003eThree Pieces for Piano\u003c\/strong\u003e (1954)   23 \u003cstrong\u003ePiano Piece 1955\u003c\/strong\u003e   24 \u003cstrong\u003ePiano Piece 1956A\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e25 \u003cstrong\u003ePiano Piece 1956B\u003c\/strong\u003e   26 \u003cstrong\u003eIntermission 6\u003c\/strong\u003e #1 (1953)   27\u003cspan\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eIntermission 5\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1952)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc Three\u003c\/strong\u003e:  \u003cbr\u003e1 \u003cstrong\u003eIntermission 6\u003c\/strong\u003e #2 (1953)   2 \u003cstrong\u003eExtensions 3\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C11\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1952)   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e3-4 \u003cstrong\u003eMusic for the film 'Sculpture by Lipton'\u003c\/strong\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e(1954) **   5 \u003cstrong\u003ePiano Piece 1952\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e6 \u003cstrong\u003eIntersection 3\u003c\/strong\u003e (1953)   7 \u003cstrong\u003ePiano Piece\u003c\/strong\u003e (1964)   8 \u003cstrong\u003eVertical Thoughts 4\u003c\/strong\u003e (1963)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e9 \u003cstrong\u003eFigure of Memory\u003c\/strong\u003e (1954) **   10 \u003cstrong\u003ePiano Piece\u003c\/strong\u003e (1963)   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e11 \u003cstrong\u003eIntermission 6\u003c\/strong\u003e #3 (1953)   12 \u003cstrong\u003eTriadic Memories\u003c\/strong\u003e start \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e (1981)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc Four\u003c\/strong\u003e:    \u003cbr\u003e1  \u003cstrong\u003eTriadic Memories\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003econcluded\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e  (1981)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisc Five\u003c\/strong\u003e:    \u003cbr\u003e1  \u003cstrong\u003eFor Bunita Marcus\u003c\/strong\u003e  (1986)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C8\"\u003e                                                                                           **= first published recording\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThe Morton Feldman Piano box set is the most extensive survey of Feldman’s piano music to date, and has been received with extremely high critical acclaim. Released exactly 20 years after John Tilbury’s long unavailable 4-CD set, the new box includes several pieces which weren’t included there, and has three works which have never been released on disc before.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Philip_Thomas_480x480.jpg?v=1751617004\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003ePhilip Thomas played Feldman’s music for 25 years and was one of the foremost interpreters of his work with an extraordinary gentle touch. He and John Tilbury combined forces to produce the highly acclaimed\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/%20morton-feldman-two-pianos-and-other-pieces-1953-1969-john-tilbury-philip-thomas\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eTwo Pianos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/%20morton-feldman-two-pianos-and-other-pieces-1953-1969-john-tilbury-philip-thomas\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003edouble CD, which featured Feldman’s music for multiple pianos. The Feldman Piano box set is the culmination of decades of study, and is accompanied by a 52-page booklet in which Philip Thomas writes about Feldman’s music from a pianist’s point of view:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e“Playing Feldman’s music inevitably changes aspects of one’s technique. The orientation is towards the vertical aspects of piano playing - the attack - rather than the horizontal - the line. Yet Feldman made much of his desire for instrumental sound\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003edevoid\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eof attack, which is hard for the piano, whose action is fundamentally percussive. Yet knowing this affects how one treats the instrument: pressing the keys serves to\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003erelease\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethe sound, setting strings in motion.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eYou can read or download Philip Thomas’s extensive sleevenotes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"\/pages\/morton-feldman-piano-notes-by-philip-thomas\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.philip-thomas.co.uk\/morton-feldman-piano\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eVery sadly about a year after recording the box set, Philip Thomas had a serious brain injury, and, although he has partially recovered, he is no longer able to play piano.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Feldman_f06a3fda-82b2-4ba6-8446-d3f4f2797cf7_480x480.jpg?v=1751616677\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C6\"\u003eSome reviews and comments\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThe Morton Feldman Piano box set received a lot of extremely positive reviews, some of which are below.  It was CD of the week in The Guardian, and received a 5-star review:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e ‘Morton Feldman wrote for the piano for most of his composing career, and the 46 pieces included in Philip Thomas’s collection – the most extensive survey of this music to date, including several works recorded for the first time – provide a thread through its changing emphases and stylistic shifts. The earliest here is an untitled piece from 1942, just one minute long and composed when Feldman was 16; the latest is Palais de Mari from 1986, the year before his death.ollection – the most extensive survey of this music to date, including several works recorded for the first time – provide a thread through its changing emphases and stylistic shifts. The earliest here is an untitled piece from 1942, just one minute long and composed when Feldman was 16; the latest is Palais de Mari from 1986, the year before his death.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThomas has been studying and playing Feldman for a quarter of a century, and his lengthy essay accompanying these discs, in which, as well as the pieces themselves, he discusses different approaches to interpreting this fascinatingly varied music, is an essential addition to the performances. As he points out, recordings of both of the biggest works here, the 90-minute Triadic Memories from 1981, and the hour-long For Bunita Marcus, written four years later, already run into double figures, and he admits to having had doubts about adding to those numbers. But including them as part of a much more comprehensive set made sense, for it enabled him, as he writes, “to find out how one piece rubs against another, where the contrasts and points of contact are.” The pieces that Thomas has omitted, and his reasons for doing so, are clearly explained, too.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eWhat we have here, then, is an authoritative presentation of some of the most important keyboard music of the second half of the 20th century. If the works here from the late 1940s and early 50s reveal the importance of Morton Feldman wrote for the piano for most of his composing career, and the 46 pieces included in Philip Thomas’s collection – the most extensive survey of this music to date, including several works recorded for the first time – provide a thread through its changing emphases and stylistic shifts. The earliest here is an untitled piece from 1942, just one minute long and composed when Feldman was 16; the latest is Palais de Mari from 1986, the year before his death. meticulously calculated harmonies, whether the scores are indeterminate, or notated conventionally or graphically. Between 1964 and 1977, Feldman wrote nothing for solo piano, but the piece with which he broke that silence, baldly titled Piano, is one of the most remarkable in the whole set. Though it is far less well-known than the larger scale works that followed it, Piano seems to exploit every facet of the instrument – its range of tone and touch, harmonics and resonance – more comprehensively than anything else Feldman wrote. It provides a perfect demonstration of Thomas’s mastery and understanding of this music too, alive to every inflection and subtle change of colour, and to every challenge it presents.’             \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Clements\u003c\/strong\u003e, The Guardian\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e‘Anyone who admires the introspective soundscapes of American composer Morton Feldman needs this New set of his piano music. It’s curated with enormous care and insight by Philip Thomas, whose notes are as illuminating as anything I’ve read on the challenges of performing, recording and listening to Feldman… \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eAn outstanding set, lovingly curated with excellent programme notes on Feldman’s music.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew McGregor\u003c\/strong\u003e, ‘Record Review’, BBC Radio 3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e‘It’s 20 years since John Tilbury released his highly regarded set of Morton Feldman’s complete piano music on the LondonHALL label. Since then the composer’s reputation has undergone a transformation. Where once new Feldman recordings were rare and exciting, these days keeping up with the release schedule takes real effort….\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThis new compendium of Feldman played by the Sheffield based pianist Philip Thomas is released partly in acknowledgement of Tilbury’s pioneering efforts two decades ago. But so much has changed, with so many recordings of the piano music already available, that Thomas has had to think carefully about his motivation in adding to the stockpile…. as you’d expect from Another Timbre, the textures and colours in this new set are vividly captured and expertly balanced.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eBut Thomas’s approach – working closely with his producer Simon Reynell – moves far beyond wanting to approximate a concert hall perspective of live Feldman on disc. In a 50 page essay about his relationship to Feldman’s music, Thomas emphasises that while other composers make you think about the sound of a G sharp, Feldman focuses the concentration on how notes feel. The unique challenges of his piano writing, Thomas implies, returns his interpreters to basic questions: about how the wrist moves as the hand attacks a note – if indeed attack is the right word in the context of Feldman; about the coordination of fingertip working in combination with fingerpad. Articulation that works well for Beethoven or Stockhausen would likely torpedo the delicate equilibrium of a Feldman score. Thomas writes that his set was recorded so that “the listener is somehow snuggled inside the body of the instrument, ears almost touching the strings, feeling the vibrations as the hammer strikes”.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e…Throughout the set you’re aware of how thoroughly Thomas grasps the architecture of the music, and how deeply this sensitivity is grounded inside an intimate communion with the resonant swells and overtones of Feldman. Again and again I was reminded of Bach playing of the highest order as Thomas’s crystalline clear orientation around line makes the motility between contrapuntal lines dance internally. My favourite moment in the whole set occurs midway during For Bunita Marcus as Thomas nonochalantly slips the rhythm into double-time, while maintaining absolute control over dynamics, notes not so much played as massaged to life.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Clark\u003c\/strong\u003e, The Wire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\"Everything about this six-hour, five-disc box-set of Morton Feldman piano music radiates the care, attention-to-detail and, yes, love that have been invested in producing it. The artwork, packaging, documentation and information are all second to none, as is the crystal-clear recording quality. Any cynic questioning the need for another exquisitely-produced box-set should note that, among its one-hundred-and-fifty-plus releases to date, this is only the second box-set issued by Another Timbre, the first being the much-praised six-disc Wandelweiser und so weiter; rather than releasing its ten-disc Canadian Composers Series as a box-set, the label issued them individually, giving the accompanying booklet away free. In a nutshell, Another Timbre only issues box-sets when absolutely essential… and this one is undoubtedly essential.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThe album title Morton Feldman Piano is guarded in its claims; the album does not contain all of Feldman’s music for piano, nor is the selection necessarily the “best” of Feldman despite the presence of such popular—and much recorded— compositions as “Triadic Memories” and “For Bunita Marcus.” The forty-four compositions here date from a 1942 “student piece,” through all of Feldman’s key periods, ending with his final composition for solo piano, “Palais de Mari” (1986). The only comparable multi-disc set of Feldman’s piano works is the long-unavailable, limited-edition four-disc set Morton Feldman All Piano (LondonHALL, 1999) featuring John Tilbury at the piano. Although that set did not include all of Feldman’s music for piano either, comparison of the two reveals a large measure of agreement about what to include. Morton Feldman Piano includes the very first published recordings of three pieces: the Satie-esque “Untitled piano piece” from 1942; “Music for the film ‘Sculpture by Lipton’ ,” from 1954, transcribed by pianist Philip Thomas himself as Feldman’s manuscript of it was lost (see YouTube below); “Figure of Memory (For Merle Marsicano)” from 1954, which was performed regularly through to the 70’s as the music for dance performances by Merle Marsicano.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eThe mention of John Tilbury—”considered one of the foremost interpreters of Morton Feldman’s music,” according to Wikipedia—makes this a good point at which to introduce Morton Feldman -Two Pianos and other pieces 1953-1969(Another Timbre, 2014) a double album on which Tilbury and Thomas played several Feldman pieces at two pianos and collaborated with other musicians on more pieces, including two three-piano pieces with Catherine Laws, and one four-piano piece with Laws and Mark Knoop. At the time, Thomas had a burgeoning reputation as an interpreter of John Cage, Feldman and Christian Wolff among others. That reputation was enhanced by his being placed next to Tilbury for the two-piano pieces. (A comparable historical analogy would be the 1957 recording session for the album Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane [Jazzland, 1961], in particular the two tracks on which Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins played together as equals, doing wonders for the esteem of the rising star Coltrane.) It makes no sense to describe either Tilbury or Thomas as the better Feldman interpreter; suffice to say that are both exceptional.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eAs well as Thomas’ skills as a pianist, the box-set displays his talents as a Feldman scholar; over thirty-seven eloquent pages of the set’s booklet, he discusses topics as diverse as his thoughts on performance, pianos and touch, the decay of a piano’s sound, variations in Feldman’s notation and all of the music in the box set. Altogether, it makes enlightening reading, particularly when combined with listening to the music itself. Thomas writes that this set of recordings tried to record such that the resultant audio is as if the listener is somehow snuggled inside the body of the instrument, ears almost touching the strings, feeling the vibrations as the hammer strikes. It is a great tribute to Thomas’ playing and Simon Reynell’s recording that the music here fully succeeds in delivering on those aims.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eForget about albums-of-the-week, end of year lists and so forth; Morton Feldman Piano seems destined to be played, discussed and cherished for many decades to come. A historic five-star release.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Eyles\u003c\/strong\u003e, All About Jazz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e“Incredibly well recorded, extraordinarily performed. A necessary set to have and cherish. Amazing.”   \u003cstrong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003eBrian Olewnick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C13\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51428643963194,"sku":"at144x5","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at144x5Feldmanboxcover.jpg?v=1749639881"},{"product_id":"morton-feldman-piano-and-string-quartet","title":"Morton Feldman","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003ePiano and String Quartet  (1985)    79:50\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eApartment House:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eMark Knoop (piano),  Mira Benjamin \u0026amp; Gordon Mackay (violins),\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eBridget Carey (viola), Anton Lukoszevieze (cello)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eDuring Covid lockdown in January 2021 Apartment House performed a series of three concerts in a single day at Wigmore Hall in London. All three concerts were devoted to the music of Morton Feldman, and all were broadcast live to an online audience around the world. One of the highlights of the day was their realisation of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003ePiano and String Quartet\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003ein the final of the three concerts. Like many of Feldman’s late works,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003ePiano and String Quartet\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eis an exceptionally long work, and listening to Apartment House’s performance, we immediately wanted to record their interpretation and release it as a CD.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eWe asked Anton Lukoszevieze, the leader of Apartment House, who had programmed the Wigmore Hall concerts, why he had chosen this piece. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C17\"\u003eAnton Lukoszevieze:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C16\"\u003ePiano and String Quartet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003e, one of Feldman’s final works, is a seemingly simple work and yet it isn’t. As Philip Guston, a great friend of Feldman, wrote ‘Frustration is one of the great things in art; satisfaction is nothing.’\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eThe length of the work (nearly 80 minutes) and the erasure of musical memory (What did we just hear?) is in fact its identity. Feldman makes simple statements, a piano arpeggio or a sustained string chord, holds these things and examines them over time. Gradually, as the sun’s light moves across a still life through the day, like a drawn out Morandi painting, the work evolves and indeed dissolves in some sense.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Normal-P\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C15\"\u003eUsing different transformative processes, Feldman illuminates his basic material and achieves the miraculous, an extended work of great beauty and enigmatic wonder. There are ghosts there, tinctures of late Schubert, Brahms and even Janaček, where beauty is a signature of passing time and an ephemeral focus on hearing and disappearing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Feldman_480x480.jpg?v=1751470058\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51428966891834,"sku":"at182","price":11.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at182frontcoverFeldman_5a26f017-7a12-46eb-ade5-f767cfec79f3.jpg?v=1749647737"},{"product_id":"morton-feldman-violin-and-string-quartet-apartment-house","title":"Morton Feldman","description":"\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eDouble CD of a 140-minute work dating from two years before Feldman's death in 1987.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Wp-Normal-P\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eApartment House:\u003cbr\u003eMira Benjamin, Chihiro Ono \u0026amp; Amalia Young, violins\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Normal-C-C9\"\u003eBridget Carey, viola   Anton Lukoszevieze, cello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Feldman_480x480.jpg?v=1751470058\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51429050417466,"sku":"at212x2","price":17.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at212x2frontcover.jpg?v=1749649337"},{"product_id":"morton-feldman-intermission-6-antti-tolvi","title":"Morton Feldman","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/feldman_2_7efb2fce-a3eb-421f-b566-609464b78a2a_240x240.jpg?v=1752841212\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/Antti_Tolvi_by_Katri_Naukkarinen_a_240x240.jpg?v=1752079403\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eINTERVIEW WITH ANTTI TOLVI\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow did the Intermission 6 project come about, and have you played any of Feldman's music before?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFeldman’s music has had this weird draw for me for a long time. I’m not sure why that is, but I just can’t get enough of it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome years ago I got my hands on the wonderful Philip Thomas 5-CD Feldman Piano box set on Another Timbre, and I‘ve listened to it a lot. I started getting more and more interested in this piece Intermission 6 (of which three different recordings in the box set). It’s the piece which has the most silence in it, and silence has been one thing in which I’ve been very much interested. So I went and found the score of the piece, and I was fascinated by it. As I’m not a classically trained pianist, I was really happy that one of my favourite pieces of Feldman was something I could pretty easily play myself. Then I tried to find longer recordings of this piece, but there only seemed to be quite short recordings of it. So I decided to start to study and practice the piece, and finally had the idea of making a long duration recording of it. So, over about two years I slowly got to know, and to really get into this piece. And finally one day, actually after a nice two week holiday around Turkey and then one week in Finland´s archipelago, I made a two hour recording of this piece. And here we are.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo, no, I haven’t played myself Feldman’s music before. But I have played a lot of music by and with some Wandelweiser composers (Werder, Houben, Thut, Beuger...) and I can see how some of their ideas come from the same river as Feldman’s ideas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThat’s interesting. When you sent me the recording, I could tell that you weren’t a classically trained pianist, but equally that you weren’t just dabbling in the music, but must have spent a lot of time with it, because you’d really got inside the piece. There’s an affection, and a care and attention, in your performance, which is compelling and convincing. I asked you to record a version that would fit on a single CD, and – as you say – here we are.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eListening to it recently it struck me that I should have added a note on the cover saying that the music is intended to be very quiet throughout, so should be played back at a low level, with the quietist sounds on the edge of audibility. Otherwise there’s a temptation to play the disc at a high volume, so that the louder notes and chords ring out, but that’s clearly not what Feldman intended. In other interpretations I’ve heard, the piece lasts between 3 and 12 minutes. How difficult was it over the unusually extended duration to keep to the low dynamic that Feldman asks for? Was it an exacting and exhausting experience, or did you enjoy it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYes, I agree, the CD (and the whole piece) shouldn’t be played too loud. But I also think that in general people who choose to listen Feldman don’t turn the volume up very loud right away. So I’m not so worried about that.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd I have to say that the grand piano I used in the recording would definitely need making more sensitive to the pianist’s touch in most contexts. It was sometimes very very hard to make quiet sounds with this piano! The notes sometimes almost exploded out, no matter how gently I pressed the key. But I found this interesting; it gave the piece more depth, different levels and liveness. It was pretty random when the piano decided to be a bit louder, and when not. And if I have understood right, Feldman composed his piano music on his particular instrument, which shaped the way his compositions unfolded. So for me this performance still stays nicely in line with what’s there at the centre of his pieces: some freedom and some kind of randomness. And this randomness really starts to increase if you play a longer version of this piece. It can suddenly take you somewhere you haven’t had any idea that it would take you. And then suddenly it throws you back where you just came, or maybe somewhere completely new - a bit of a weird place. So this piece somehow keeps again and again recreating itself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI remember when I did my first long recordings of the piece. I was thinking that ok, I will play first, for, let’s say, 40 minutes, and then I’ll see how it is. 40 minutes came easily, like no problem, and I was enjoying a lot. So I continued. Somewhere maybe around 70 minutes I thought ‘is this good now?’ But then, well, somehow the piece just took me to some new dimension or something, and it felt that the music was always going somewhere new, and not repeating itself at all. After about 2 hours I just thought, ‘wow!, maybe this is good now!’ After 2 hours of playing and listening, yes, it’s certainly a long time. But yes, I think it wouldn’t make any sense to play a long version of this piece if it ended up repeating itself. But somehow these chords and notes are chosen with such genius that they remain varied and keep taking you new places for a very long time. Of course, you (also me) need to practice some patience to work with this kind of music….\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan you tell us a bit about your musical background?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWell first, I have to say that I haven’t done any official western musical studies, but I have played experimental music my whole life. In the mid-90’s I started to do my own experimental music (punkish), and from there slowly entered the world of free jazz and improvised music. In the early 2000’s we set up our first free jazz quartet, Rauhan Orkesteri, where I played sax and clarinet. In Finland there was maybe a small gap, or a lack of activity in the free music field, so there was plenty of space to do something. I \/we were part of this group of friends \/ a loose collective called Forest folk. We didn’t give ourselves that name, but The Wire magazine started calling what we did ‘Forest folk’, so that’s what we were called... So in the 2000’s we had many tours and concerts around Europe and the US, mostly in the experimental underground scene, which funnily enough is pretty much the same as what there is in the punk scene. There’s always someone almost anywhere in the world who’s willing to book you a show and take care of you, with so little money involved. Music can be very communal, as we all know.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo at the time of Forest folk, I was at the point of life where people usually go to art school and \/ or continue their studies. But my partner and I decided to move with to the countryside (Kemiö Island), and there my music started to take a new direction towards solo works, minimalism, drones, sound installations, long durations, more like performance art and so on.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd one thing I have to say that when I was really into free jazz and improv stuff, I was also very much in to North Indian classical music. One winter I even travelled to Varanasi to study sitar for a few months. And actually it was through Dhrupad (a style in Indian classical music) that I found the music of American minimalists (La Monte Young, Terry Riley and so on). Since then I’ve listened a lot North Indian classical music, still almost every single day. I have also tried playing it, but always come to the conclusion that if I really want to play this music, it would be pretty impossible to do anything else… \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNowadays I spend most of my time with my new compositions, performances and sound installations. Lately I’ve been very interested in duration. I just played live this new 17.4 day composition For piano and pause. The piece starts with one hour of written piano music, then there is a 17-day pause, and then another hour of piano music. I’m pretty interested about what happens when a piece turns into an installation, and whether it is still a concert? For example, if I played an 8-hour version of Intermission 6, would it be concert or an installation (where you can enter and leave as you like)? Also, with my friend, performance artist Olga Spyropoulou, we just did a duo piece Riittää \/ Enough in Tehdas Theatre in Turku, Finland. In this piece the audience votes from time to time ‘is this enough?’ And when they all vote that it is enough, the piece ends. Otherwise, we continue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou point out that Finland hasn’t had a huge experimental music scene – compared with, say, Norway or Sweden or other similar countries. Looking from outside, this seems to have started to change, but why do you think experimental music has remained so marginal?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Standard\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003eYes, it has changed a lot. We had some nice avantgarde action in the late 60´s, and maybe in the 70's, but then I think it disappeared a bit, I don't know why. And I'm a bit young to say anything about that because I was born in 1977.  But in general Finland is in pretty weird place on the map. To the west and south, there is the Baltic Sea. And toward the east, Russia. And well, that is and has always been a bit different on many levels, and lately it's 100% no go. So we are kind of living on a far away island, in the north-east corner of Europe. I think that people here are not mentally completely in the “west”, but not in the “east” either. We are kind of on the border between these two worlds.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Standard\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003eEverything new seemed to come to Finland 10 years after it happened in Sweden. Of course there have been exceptions, but, for instance, in Sweden you could study “experimental” music in the academy much earlier than in Finland. I think that in the  Sibelius Academy compositional studies were focused more or less just on European modernism.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Standard\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003eI remember the story of when John Cage came to the Time of Music festival in 1983 in Finland, and he played his branches and stuff in a church. A big Finnish tv channel was there filming the concert. That channel is famous for having some funny \/ silly little item every day at the end of the evening news. So this tv channel showed John Cage playing his branches at the festival (which was great, by the way) as a joke. I heard a rumour (though I'm not sure it's true) that the city of Viitasaari ended up supporting the festival for a while because of this.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Standard\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Tahoma',sans-serif;\"\u003eBut nowadays I think the possibilities for studying experimental music are more or less the same in Finland and Sweden.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Timbre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51429199642938,"sku":"at241","price":10.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0740\/3631\/4426\/files\/at241AnttiTolvifrontcover.jpg?v=1749650962"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.anothertimbre.com\/collections\/other-morton-feldman-releases.oembed","provider":"Another Timbre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}