Friday, March 25, 2005
morton feldman writings
I became interested in Feldman's music early in 2004, having only heard a performance of Vertical Thoughts 4 while a student at the U of Chicago in the 80's. I used to look at a lot of his scores in the library there, but no more than I did anyone else's. Feldman's music really made an impression on me starting last year, and I've managed to cram about 3 GB of it all on my iPod, with most of his late music particularly well-represented (the really long pieces).
To be honest, I haven't felt this strongly about anyone's music since I got involved in minimalism in the late 70's, which had a major impact on my own music. Part of why I think I respond so much to Feldman's music is that there is an appreciation for sound, sparse textures, contemplation and also repetition (particularly in the later pieces). Some of his music is incredibly beautiful, but admittedly is an acquired taste (my wife derisively refers to it as "whale music" after I had For Christian Wolff playing in our kitchen one day).
Feldman was a very smart man, and wrote a lot about music. I recently obtained a copy of his collection of writings Give My Regards to Eighth Street for all of $7 on eBay and plowed through it pretty quickly. There is a great section where Feldman encounters several major conductors, all of whom praise his music, yet all of them will never perform Feldman's music themselves.
What is also very interesting is his opinions on academic music. He had some scorn for Boulez and Babbitt, and seemed to feel a bit left out by many mainstream musical organizations. His opinions are similar to mine, and in one essay I think he pretty much sums up my distaste for academic music and institutions in general:
"Art is a crucial, dangerous operation we perform on ourselves. Unless we take a chance, we die in art. It becomes increasingly obvious that to these fellows [academic composers who teach], music is not an art. It is a process of teaching teachers to teach teachers. In this process it is only natural that the music of the teacher will be no different from that of the teacher he's teaching. Academic freedom seems to be the comfort of knowing one is free to be academic."...
"Have you ever looked into the eyes of a survivor from the composition department of Princeton or Yale? He is on his way to tenure, but he's a drop-out in art. All the same, he continues...He writes a piece occasionally. It is played occasionally. There is always the possibility of a performance on the Gunther Schuller series. His pieces are well made., He is not without talent. The reviews aren't bad. A few awards–a Guggenheim,. and Arts and Letters, a Fulbright–this is the official musical life of America."
I think Feldman says it better than I could. It's a great collection of writings, and even if you dislike Feldman's music, is worth reading for his insight into composition, notation and painting. And then there are his comments about rugs in Crippled Symmetry...
posted by David Toub
1:33 PM
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