Morton Feldman's Piano and String Quartet

Analysis, Aesthetics, and Experience of a 20th-Century Masterpiece

Ray Fields

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2022
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538172285
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

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 eighty-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. He discusses the sonic experience of the music itself and provides insights into Feldman's aesthetic influences. The book also includes basic biographical information about Feldman; descriptions of the music of his early, middle, and late periods; and an overview of analyses of other Feldman works.
In 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 crucial information from pianist Aki Takahashi about performing the work.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Analytical Approach
• 3 Large-scale Structure of Piano and String Quartet
• 4 Detailed Analysis of Part A
• 5 Detailed Analysis of Part B
• 6 Part C—Repetition, Variance, Stasis
• 7 Conclusion—The Sonic Experience of Piano and String Quartet
• Appendix A: Key for Locating Measures in the Score of Piano and String Quartet
• Appendix B: Photocopy of Letter from Morton Feldman to Aki Takahashi, Most Likely September 11, 1985
• Appendix C: Selected Bibliography: Analytical Studies of the Music of Morton Feldman
• Appendix D: Interview with David Harrington
• Appendix E: Page from Morton Feldman’s Sketches for Piano and String Quartet
• Selected Bibliography
• About the Author