POV - Morton Feldman Recordings

that can't really be done, unless the sessions were 12 or 16 hours each. I have a loose plan in the works to do a complete Treatise, supervised by Christian Wolff and Keith Rowe (both of whom have signed on pending funding), but doing the entire piece takes quite some time. John T. certainly knows what he's doing in this area, but I'd like to see confirmation that that actually was all of Treatise, otherwise I'm going to remain dubious. the other possible explanation is that John's take on how long it takes to perform the piece is wildly different from Keith's, I'd like to know if that's the case also.

the Dublin For Bunita Marcus is 86 minutes as opposed to the 77 minutes of the earlier recording, and the slow, very human feel of it is fantastic.

i see. i thought treatise was 30-odd pages not nearly 200 so you're right, of course. good luck with it!

the Dublin For Bunita Marcus is 86 minutes as opposed to the 77 minutes of the earlier recording, and the slow, very human feel of it is fantastic.

Is there going to be an official release??

not that I know of, I've done all I can to try to get it released via my contacts, but John and I don't speak anymore since he started boycotting the US (which translated largely into boycotting me) and since Keith left AMM. if I could, I'd release it in a second on a new ErstClassical label, though.

there is supposed to be a large Feldman/Tilbury box coming via Matchless at some point, though, with I believe no overlap with the AllPiano box, pieces for piano plus other instruments.

what spurred his u.s. boycott?

That's a real pity. Hopefully it will reach the light of day at some point - I was just googling around and found some more praise for it here:

http://richardpinnell.blogspot.com/2007/04/spot-difference.html

"what spurred his u.s. boycott?"

http://incalcando.com/tilbury/

isn't there a video posted somewhere of the dublin performance? gotta say i wasn't thrilled from the audio there. of course quicktime video isn't the best audio player around.

Has John left or stopped performing here in England?

if he was performing somewhere - where would you find out about it?!

Upcoming performances in London would be fairly easy to find out about, and I suppose anywhere else in england there would be a small item in the 'culture' section of any broadsheet right?

Any foreign performances would probably be advertised in Wire.

true. he should have a website though.

the Dublin performance probably isn't technically as good as the one on the AllPiano box, but there's a human, frail quality to it that I just find gorgeous. in my top 5 recordings of last year, and I'm still going to see if I can get it released somehow.

John does still play the UK, but he has no website.

Love to know his reasons for still playing here. Bcz given the contents of his statement he shouldn't be.

heh

yeah, he's well aware of the overall inconsistencies in his stance, and any that he wasn't, I tried to make him well aware of when he initiated this boycott. I think in the end the primary actual reason was that he got sick of dealing with US customs at the airports, who are quite often extremely condescending and invasive, and it was too hard for him to justify that to himself when he had zero respect for the people running the US. that's an inelegant paraphrase, but in the general area. he doesn't have to clear customs to play shows in the UK, and he does have to pay the bills, so he still plays there.

and, yes, it's ironic that I'm the one who quite often ends up explaining (defending?) his perspective when the boycott is largely of me (I'm also the one who arranged the Wire profile in which his position first became public).

but that's ok, I totally respect his right to hold that position, even if I don't agree with it, and he's still one of my very favorite musicians in the world. anyone reading this thread who hasn't heard the Duos for Doris record he did with Keith Rowe for my label really should rectify that ASAP. it's not Feldman, but it's as close as improv gets.

what issue of The Wire was that, Jon?

#230, April 2003, Autechre cover.

got it, thanks.

Tilbury is playing Feldman's Triadic Memories in London on June 10th. Details here for anyone local:

http://www.sjss.org.uk/pages/Diary/content_page1_2.htm

If I get the chance to speak to him I intend to ask John if I can release the Dublin recording on Cathnor in early 2009. I know he thinks a lot of the recording.

Will make this...

nice, Richard! good luck with that...

Excellent, I hope you have some good news for us in a couple of weeks!

Any news?

Just listened to the Tilbury box set version of Bunita Marcus. Still fantastic - anyone know anything more about a release for the Dublin recording?

Might as well ask again! I really hope someone puts this out someday...

http://www.newmusicbox.org/article.nmbx?id=6506

pretty amazing interview with Bunita Marcus

posting here so people will read it and we can start a thread on her once some more of her music comes out on CD

great, thanks for the link! I sorta assumed that she was some sort of patron, not a composer.

Googling Tilbury Bunita Marcus 2009 turns up a rather interesting recording, which could well be the Dublin recording mentioned above, I'm guessing (it's 86 minutes long, for starters).

Tomorrow night, Alice Tully Hall NYC, Rothko Chapel along with his 'Bass Clarinet And Percussion' and two Kurtag pieces. So psyched.

is this an anniversary year or something? there was a performance of Rothko Chapel a few months ago at Berkeley Art Museum (amazing) and it's playing this week with Mozart's Requiem at SF Symphony

He would have turned 85 in January... not a terribly significant numeral in my book but hey.

Kurtag was born the same year; his 85th bday was Saturday.

The two of them are so opposite (except in the fact that both require you to pay v close attention) that I think they'll make a great program together.

http://www.kylegann.com/PC080129-Dispraise-of-Efficiency.html

This is great:

"One of my favorite stories Feldman liked to tell was of Marcel Duchamp visiting an art class in San Francisco, where he saw a young man wildly painting away. Duchamp went over and asked, "What are you doing?" The young man said, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing!" And Duchamp patted him on the back and said, "Keep up the good work.""

a recent release on Willem Breuker's BVHaast label from Feldman's Last Composition: http://wbk.home.xs4all.nl/_0110Feldman_Info.html

one other thing worth noting with New World contuing its CRI Records reissue program... two months ago they finally got around to "The Viola In My Life", three 70's performances conducted by Feldman. I would have mentioned that one in the secondaries of my first post if I'd heard it, it's not glossy or ambient, it's close-miked & delicate. Lots of room tone and small noises & movements, very live, active listening.

http://www.newworldrecords.org/album.cgi?rm=view&album_id=17147.com

― milton parker (Jon L), Thursday, January 4, 2007 1:23 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark

really been enjoying this one over the last few days. "delicate" is exactly how I would describe it as well.

I have to be in a very particular mood to enjoy Feldman. My favorite of his is Coptic Light, and I don't think it's a coincidence that it's also his busiest piece.

same here. but when I'm in that mood, the slow, sparse nature of his later work coupled with the tension/release dynamic the repetition brings out really gets me.

that said, I listened to string quartet 2 a few weeks back and felt like an insane person by the end of it.

argh, need to proofread.

I haven't listened to coptic light tho. any recording you would recommend?

I have the one on CPO coupled with the early Durations pieces, which are okay, but CL is the highlight.

Someone (I think Michael Gielen) has a disc coupling CL and Bruckner's 8th.

I will seek out the CPO release then, thanks!

There's something about the photo on the cover of this LP that is just so strange:

http://www.theoriginalsoundtrack.com/art/mortonfeldman.jpg

For me, I like Coptic Light the best. The thing with Feldman is that the shorter a piece is, the more musical information there is, as for longer pieces it's the opposite.
I'd also reccommend the ECM recording of 'The Viola In My Life' that came out some years ago. Stellar perfomance and sound quality. The last section with orchestra and viola is very moving.

Just dropped for this: http://www.hyphenpress.co.uk/music/morton_feldman_jazz_tributes

Looks fun, I'll let you know.

i can't really afford to go to this. but can i really afford to not go? probably my one and only chance, no?

http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/whatson/event/105058-Minimal-Extreme:-The-Smith-Quartet:-Feldman%27s-Quartet-No.2-%286-hours%29

This Thur:

http://www.cafeoto.co.uk/golden-fur-morton-feldman-patterns-in-a-chromatic-field.shtm

That Feldman perf was pretty good, can sink into those shapes for hours -- which is good since he writes material that tends to go well over an hour -- we need more of those quiet performances so that we can hear it against creaky chairs and sirens going round on a late and hot London evening.

Grear new release: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/aug/15/feldman-crippled-symmetry-review?INTCMP=SRCH

GreaT, that is.

anyone heard this one?

http://www.moderecords.com/catalog/238feldman.html