Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet cover

Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet

Composer
Released

This roughly 80-minute piece was commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and written with them and pianist Aki Takahashi in mind as the performers; they premiered it in Los Angeles in 1985, and recorded this version in 1993. It’s a breathtaking record, the two elements of the title working in unison but not together — the strings release long, slow chords as the piano offers single notes, or short figures of between two and at most six notes, all swathed in shimmering reverberation with the sustain pedal held to the floor throughout. The tiny variations on a very simple theme make you feel like you’re picking up leaves one at a time and staring at them, noticing their differences and their similarities.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Dialectic Soul cover

Dialectic Soul

Asher Gamedze
DR503 cover

DR503

The Dead C
Actions cover

Actions

Fire! Orchestra
Morton Feldman: Trio cover

Morton Feldman: Trio

Marc Sabat, Rohan de Saram, Aki Takahashi
Viscera cover

Viscera

Brian Krock
Sketches and Ballads cover

Sketches and Ballads

Various Artists, Full Blast
Ripples cover

Ripples

Husmo HAV
Perpetuum Mobile cover

Perpetuum Mobile

Einstürzende Neubauten
Le Piano Englouti cover

Le Piano Englouti

Jim O'Rourke, Brunhild Meyer-Ferrari
Black Fire cover

Black Fire

Andrew Hill