Morton Feldman ~ Five Pianos

[@daigreatcoat44]

I'm always a bit puzzled by the negative comments which contemporary music elicits online. The fact that someone unknown to me doesn't like a piece of music is of no practical value to me. It's as if there were hordes of people in a filthy mood, just waiting for a piece of music that will enable them to erupt. I remember a favourite saying of Roberto Gerhard's: "when you write an angry letter, walk slowly to the post-box".

[@LaurentCarty]

Exactly.

[@SKEPSISsean]

That first chord...what a start to an incredible piece.

[@Juststartingout768]

lol! It sounds like a cat playing on the keys!

[@morissmor]

Just starting out lol! So fuckin true! lol! Like, just press some random keys! lol! Emperor has no clothes! lol! Lfmao! lol! And what is this painting? lol! I could have made that when I was 4 yrs old! lol!

[@EUrgell]

It does have a certain magic to it, I fully agree!

[@MIDIPipe]

That very first reminds me a lot the Satie's harmony.

[@louisgardner5580]

@OnceTheyNamedMeiWasnt Yea and I think a sharp T with a neutral Greg and Major Twark

[@davidmcmurray9933]

I love the different worlds each composer makes. The players and studio personnel, too.

[@litbyrequest7348]

Duly unforgettable. This is the sonic equivalent of watching icebergs melt at night.

[@Twentythousandlps]

I imagine this concept works best in live performance (or on quadraphonic sound) with the sounds emerging from five different places, than when scrunched up into two speakers.

[@AnAmericanComposer]

As someone who considers themselves to be intensely romantic in his writing, I did not expect to enjoy Feldman, but a few of his pieces really speak to me, in their own unique ways. This, the clarinet+string quartet piece, and Coptic Light are my favorites. It's interesting how much you can say with so little...

[@LouisGuillotYT]

Do you know "Viola in my life" ?

[@AnAmericanComposer]

@@jackgallahan9669 Three years later, Feldman grew to be one of my greatest influences. I can understand him better than before, and I've come to accept that he was an absolute master of space and dissonance. Each timbral quality is its own statement, it's a color poking out of the space, it's so perfect. He's allowed me to recognize and appreciate dissonance from a different perspective, "feeling" the pulsations not as harsh sounds but as deep colors that can be manipulated to produce infinitely complex emotions. Thank you for responding here so I could listen to it again.

[@AnAmericanComposer]

@@jackgallahan9669 Yes my channel is dedicated to my music :) in the last few years I've done mostly just improvising pieces on the piano. I haven't really composed anything since college, but I might get back into it someday.

[@lucaslemonholm5492]

Or maybe how little you can say with so much. I love feldman, and he strikes me as a true "minimalist" in the affect of his music but a maximalist in his use of material. What beautiful music

[@ceef8688]

@@lucaslemonholm5492 a very astute reversal. It is common practice to say a recording of a branch clicking against a window for one hour is "minimalist," when really, it is a choice to give it center stage, magnifying an incredibly subtle sound that never gets full attention in the first place. It relies on tantric patience for the audience, which always wants a buffet.

[@clementreid5396]

Terrific music, very beautiful.

[@sansserifa]

To be like "Five Pianos", to live like that, to endlessly float, to trust one's own impulses, quirks and personality completely... To result in the most beautiful of anarchies. The most beautiful of nonsense verses, of idiossyncratic sayings.

[@davidmcmurray9933]

Most of his music, to endlessly float.

[@pelodelperro]

Timeless.

[@cesarbarros8729]

Belíssimo! O sons se tornaram autônomos, soltos mas ao mesmo tempo num mesmo ambiente, saltitantes em intervalos de oitavas ascendentes. Adorei.

[@mikeg2924]

Rothko + Feldman = Genius

[@EUrgell]

If you enjoyed this piece, do listen to Jürg Frey's Extended Circular Music. It is unbelievable what he did and how close it comes to Feldman...

[@leondupasind9280]

Just the right amount of notes. But as Ligeti said - keep it chordal. This floats my musical boat.

[@ChristopherDale-h8u]

His music is more like creating an atmosphere. C D.

[@litbyrequest7348]

Duly unforgettable. This is the sonic equivalent of watching icebergs melt at night.

[@sshuck]

C#, D#, E, G#, A, C, E, F#, A# I'm OK with those notes.

[@sshuck]

​@OnceTheyNamedMeiWasnt obviously

[@OmarFernandesAly]

Cheers to Feldman and Rothko

[@MegaCirse]

Diablement romantique ; je dirais même plus (et comme dirait l'autre) Amazing.....!!!

[@FangYaGe]

I really enjoy this recording, beyond the shadow of a doubt, but I have one question: are the performers doing the humming?

[@MUSIC-mf1wl]

Google is Prism yes indeed.

[@lucvandenberge8180]

Yes, they do. It is part of the score. One of my favorite pieces by Morton Feldman, this.

[@ironmaz1]

painting by? Rothko?

[@tomfurgas2844]

Yes, that's a Rothko.

[@madmarsupial]

A good match for Feldman! Fellow travellers.

[@cece____]

I always wonder why people should not consider this as a real piece of music.

[@psijicassassin7166]

You mean this wasn't just a cat stepping on piano keys?

[@warshipsatin8764]

i can understand not enjoying it, but how can someone say it isnt music?

[@OrisLover]

So, are there five pianos playing in unison on this piece or is it just a title?

[@MUSIC-mf1wl]

They are not playing in unison. So yes, no and yes/no...

[@OrisLover]

Thanks.

[@ojberrettaberretta5314]

is it 5 different pianos at the same time or not?

[@madmarsupial]

It is five different pianos playing. His intention is clearly about the way they resonate together, sonic complexity, atmosphere and feeling rather than note complexity.

[@Juststartingout768]

@@madmarsupial Rather than tunefully, you mean?

[@yungster_rick]

Kind of reminds me of father by Aphex Twin but at the same time they are worlds apart.

[@jazzjoyce]

fajne nawet

[@findbridge1790]

is Glenn Gould in there? :)

[@kuang-licheng402]

nice

[@commenteroftruth9790]

I like the music, I hate the pretentiousness of the people that listen to it.

[@dragmio]

Well, we can only feel sorry for you...

[@commenteroftruth9790]

@@dragmio Because I do not agree with the pompous hipster culture of feeling special through the enjoyment of non-mainstream art? I know why you feel sorry then. It is truly a blunder of the human psyche.

[@dragmio]

@@commenteroftruth9790 No, because you don't listen to what you like in order not to hate yourself. And because you're so insecure in your own judgment you can only follow the herd. And because you're such an egotist you can't even allow for the possibility that someone else actually likes this. I could go on, but I feel sorry for you. Again.

[@commenteroftruth9790]

@@dragmio you just made up your own version of what I said. You dont have enough intelligence to talk to sorry lol.

[@jcastano]

@@dragmio You completely, and uncharitably misinterpreted what @eNeNe had to say.

[@user-ob9zo9cr4c]

X ii ;

[@davidluck1678]

good, static background noise for doing something else more interesting. Thanks, Mort

[@seanmchugh298]

I prefer Steve Reich's Six Pianos...

[@nasrosubari49]

Sean McHugh "Steve Reich. Six Pianos. Because six pianos are more than five!"

[@alexreik424]

Nasro Subari either or both unnecessary mess

[@alexreik424]

+toothless what's more appropriate is for you to stick your toe way up where the sun don't shine

[@peterpringle9950]

+Sean McHugh they are both frauds

[@albertomartin4812]

I fully enjoy Six Pianos, so I can categorically claim it isn´t a fraud.

[@WilliRuggerford]

another endlessly boring work from that scam artist.

[@LouisGuillotYT]

Hey, please shut up.

[@docsketchy]

Several things in response to this comment: 1) "Boring" is always subjective. What you find boring, I might find quite exciting. Some people (such as myself) quite enjoy listening to the subtly changing harmonic events in Feldman's music. 2) If Feldman was a "scam artist" then he wasn't very good at it, since he never actually made a living as a composer. For most of his life, he worked in his parents' clothing business, and eventually he was appointed as a professor at SUNY Buffalo. He did obtain a few commissions later in his life, but those were freely offered by people and institutions who were familiar with his work and wanted to pay to secure more of it, so who did he actually "scam?" 3) Feldman had very strong ideas about why he composed the sort of music he did. You are free to disagree strongly with them, but don't think for a minute that he was doing this on a whim. One doesn't generally devote ones entire life to a whim. If you want to understand his thinking about music and art, then you are free to read up about it. I would recommend the books "Morton Feldman Says" and "Give My Regards to Eighth Street" for giving the best insights into Feldman's views on art. Of course, it's easier just to express ignorant opinions without putting any work in, so if you choose not to read anything about his music, I understand completely. 4) If you can compose better, then please post some of your compositions on KZbin for others to criticize. I'll happily dump my ignorant opinions all over your hard work.

[@clarinetjo]

No

[@Juststartingout768]

I agree! My cat made something like this up the other day when it was playing on the keys

[@stephenl9463]

docsketchy Great comment! Precise and appreciated. I met MF many years ago at contemporary new music festivals at CalArts. I was too young to fully appreciate his music as much as I do now. I understand from one of his music producers that his work is today performed more than John Cage’s music. In MF, we hear something still fresh and new without the fingerprints of ‘history’ all over it. Thanks for the book recommendations; I’ll look for them. For anyone thinking MF didn’t know or understand music composition they can start by looking up his interview with Jan Williams on the Internet discussing his percussion piece, The King of Denmark.

[@paullorenz8692]

...so...luscious....

[@WilliRuggerford]

just like eating poo