Overview

Morton Feldman viewed Piano and String Quartet as his capstone work—the culminating example of the aesthetic that Feldman spent his life seeking. Written in 1985, the year before Feldman’s death, this single movement, roughly 80-minute composition was heralded by Steve Reich as “the most beautiful work [of Feldman's] I know.” Ray Fields presents a detailed analysis of the complete piece and examines the elements that contribute to its formal and expressive design, including local and large-scale temporal architecture, pitch/interval formations, texture, timbre, and register. It discusses the aural experience of the music itself and provides insights into Feldman’s aesthetic influences. Basic biographical information is provided, describing the music of his early, middle, and late periods and providing an overview of analyses of other Feldman works. By examining this beloved piece, the book addresses the question: what was everything Feldman wanted in his music? Also included are interviews with Kronos Quartet’s David Harrington about the origins of Piano and String Quartet and Aki Takahashi providing crucial information about the work.

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9781538172278

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Reviews

Fields has written penetrating study of one of the most celebrated late works of Morton Feldman. His study is exhaustive in its examination and explication of every detail of this great work--I was impressed with the holistic approach to analysis that Fields brings to his research.--Thomas DeLio, professor of music, University of Maryland College Park In this important and thought-provoking addition to the growing body of analyses of Feldman works, Ray Fields' original and clearly presented analysis sheds new light on the structure and meaning of the piece and on Feldman's compositional aims and procedures. Here we see for the first time some of the underlying reasons why so many people, including Feldman himself, like this piece so much.--Chris Villars, editor, Morton Feldman Says: Selected Interviews and Lectures 1964-1987

In this important and thought-provoking addition to the growing body of analyses of Feldman works, Ray Fields' original and clearly presented analysis sheds new light on the structure and meaning of the piece and on Feldman's compositional aims and procedures. Here we see for the first time some of the underlying reasons why so many people, including Feldman himself, like this piece so much.--Chris Villars, editor, Morton Feldman Says: Selected Interviews and Lectures 1964-1987

Author Information

Ray Fields is a composer, analyst, and researcher. His works are performed at festivals, conferences, sacred settings, public spaces, and on-line. He studied with Thomas DeLio, Robert Gibson, Mark Edwards Wilson, and Christopher Pavlakis. His preparation for analyzing Morton Feldman’s Piano and String Quartet included three weeks of study at the Feldman Archive of the Paul Sacher Stiftung in Basel, Switzerland; interviews with David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet and pianist Aki Takahashi, who premiered and recorded the work, as well as other performers of Feldman’s music; and cognitive research on the aural experience of the composition itself.

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