Morton Feldman plays Feldman

Mode Records celebrates the Feldman Anniversary with a rare opportunity to hear Morton Feldman interpret his own works.

These performances are from a live concert given in Cologne, Germany in 1978, recorded by Deutschlandfunk (German Radio).

Composer Walter Zimmermann was an early champion of Feldman's music in Europe. He invited Feldman, along with Feldman's trusted interpreters Eberhard Blum and Jan Williams, to present this concert as part of Zimmermann's Beginner Studio series.

This is likely the earliest recording of Why Patterns?, which was written in the year of this concert performance. It is written as an uncoordinated score, musicians start together but proceed independently, each focusing on repetition and permutations of pattern material, both intervallic and durational, reconvening again at the end of the piece. Working in such a way allowed Feldman to construct a sound-world which focuses the attention on the shape of musical events rather than on their harmonic functionality. The result is a glacial and free-floating impression that creates a contemplative atmosphere for the listener.

Feldman also performs his solo piano works Extensions 3 and Intermission 5, both from 1952.

Liner notes by Walter Zimmermann and Morton Feldman.