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
Moving Cities cover

Moving Cities

Makaya McCraven, Antoine Berjeaut
Livonia cover

Livonia

His Name Is Alive
The Milwaukee Tapes, Vol. 1 cover

The Milwaukee Tapes, Vol. 1

Fred Anderson Quartet
Mandance cover

Mandance

Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society
Speculation cover

Speculation

To Rococo Rot
Susurration cover

Susurration

The Humble Bee
Dune cover

Dune

Klaus Schulze
Life Goes On cover

Life Goes On

Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow