Complex? Yes. But its complexity is matched by its clarity. It breathes.
Milton Babbitt (1916-2011), Composition for Twelve Instruments (1948, rev. 1954): Ensemble conducted by Ralph Shapey (1921-2002), 1962
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
timeless
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), Crippled Symmetry (1983); Ives Ensemble (Rik Andriessen, flute, bass flute; Arnold Marinissen, vibraphone, glockenspiel; John Snijders, piano, celesta), live, Amsterdam (Netherlands), 2008
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
like nobody else
This I return to again, and again, and again.
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), For Philip Guston (1984); S.E.M. Ensemble, 2000
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lagniappe
random sights
a while ago, Ireland (Dingle Peninsula)
This I could listen to all day.
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), For Philip Guston (1984); S.E.M. Ensemble, 2000
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lagniappe
random sights
a while ago, Oak Park, Ill.
MCOTD Hall of Fame
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), For Christian Wolff (1986); Eberhard Blum (flute), Nils Vigland (piano, celesta), 1992
It can be hard to recall, after an hour or two, what the world sounded like before this began.
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lagniappe
listening room
Clear, open, luminous: pianist Aki Takahashi’s recently released recording of For Bunita Marcus (1985), available on Spotify, is one of the finest renderings of Feldman’s unique sound-world that I’ve ever heard.
MCOTD Hall of Fame
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), For Philip Guston (1984); S.E.M. Ensemble, 2000
This I could listen to all day.
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), For Philip Guston (1984); Claire Chase (flute, alto flute, piccolo), Steven Schick (percussion), Sarah Rothenberg (piano, celesta), live, Houston (Rothko Chapel), 2013
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lagniappe
random sights
today, Oak Park, Ill.
more
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), For Philip Guston (1984); Either/OR (Richard Carrick, piano/celesta; Margaret Lancaster, flutes; David Shively, percussion), live, Philadelphia, 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
flitting butterfly–
every corner of my hut
is inspected—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827; translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
MCOTD Hall of Fame
Morton Feldman (1926-1987), For Philip Guston (1984), excerpt; Claire Chase (flute, alto flute, piccolo), Steven Schick (percussion), Sarah Rothenberg (piano, celesta), live, Houston (Rothko Chapel), 2014
Once I enter this world, I never want to leave.
Morton Feldman (1926-1987), For Philip Guston (1984); Either/OR (Richard Carrick, piano/celesta; Margaret Lancaster, flutes; David Shively, percussion), live, Philadelphia, 2015
music clip of the day 