The Music of Morton Feldman (Excelsior Profile Series of American Composers)

Rating:
Summary: Good compendium of things missed
Review: Since his death in 1988, there has been no shortage of interest in Morton Feldman. While alive there was a small but devoted following. The Brits loved the utter beauty, and simplicity of his work, Composers Howard Skempton, Cornelius Cardew, even the improv ensemble AMM speak deeply of Feldman's influence. With this collection of analytical investigations the rigours of academia as well now are making,staking a claim. And that's illuminating because the Feldman aesthetic is the direct opposite of someone the demeanor of Elliot Carter. But herein all the creative periods in Feldman's life are exposed with ample analytical tools of graphic renderings. Here John Welsh discusses 'Projection 1' a modest cello solo notated on graph paper, considered at the time of writing 1950, an experimental piece and something gleaned from John Cage I suspect. Feldman to my mind never had that kind of aesthetic voice for innovation. His concern was always in the aesthetic object, its attenuation, shape, its design and process, as opposed to Cage where the aesthtic object was a by=product of a larger process, hence it fell or stood,depending on the gifts and vision of the performers. Venturing forward, an important contribution to piano literature is discussed by Paula Kopstick Ames, a work modestly titled 'Piano" from 1977, a 20 minute work where we begin to see Feldman's interest in large scale durational values . And if something is missing here it is an appraisal of these massivly long works like the String Quartet, that Kronos had premiered, or 'Triadic Memories',or 'Cryppled Symmetry', or 'For Christian Wolff' a four hour work for flute and piano. For John Cage(1982) is well rendered with structural definitions and charts which mark its divisions. When you see these divisions its odd how simple it is, you always think an analysis will preserve the complexity we hear, or didn't hear or discover a complexity to exhibit the visual side of analysis, for let's face, this kind of academia work is an end in itself. I know of no performers of this music who consult analyses prior to their performative work, Like wise Elliot Carter. The ultimate highlight here is the inclusion of three essays by Mr. Feldman himself. He was a gifted orator, and verbal communicator. He had a gift for interdiscipline- like approach, where he interjects concepts from Mondrian,Tolstoi, Henri Bergmann, something now we take for granted. 'The Anxiety of Art', is an essay and position statement, on that the American Revolution, in art that is, the Pollock, Abstract Expressionist Revolution which rendered New York the art world center was devoid of bloodshed, hence no banners, and the word of subversion is only now coming through. This book is one example of that revolution.