Feldman: For Philip Guston / Blum, Vigeland, Williams [Box set]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
There is a considerable amount of austerity in almost all Morton Feldman's compositions, but For Philip Guston is exceptional. It's exceptional in its unyieldingly austere spaciousness and in the composer's equally unyielding conviction that time was not an issue for the unfolding of his compositions. For Philip Guston lasts over four hours, with only three instrumentalists--Eberhard Blum on flute, piccolo, and alto flute; Nils Vigeland on piano and celesta; and Jan Williams on glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, and chimes. Invoking the visual art of abstract expressionist painter Guston, Feldman utilizes crawling, eerie atonalities as well as extremely generous spacing and phrase construction to make one of New Music's most categorical refractions of other new arts movements in the post-World War II era. Here, Feldman broadens the colors of each instrument's palette by focusing so intently on the way notes take shape--from the first wisps to the dissonant stretches, to the luminescent fades. --Andrew Bartlett

Tracks:

For Philip Guston: PART I
For Philip Guston: PART I
For Philip Guston: PART I
For Philip Guston: PART I

Tracks:

For Philip Guston: PART II
For Philip Guston: PART II
For Philip Guston: PART II
For Philip Guston: PART II

Tracks:

For Philip Guston: PART III
For Philip Guston: PART III
For Philip Guston: PART III
For Philip Guston: PART III

Tracks:

For Philip Guston: PART IV
For Philip Guston: PART IV
For Philip Guston: PART IV
For Philip Guston: PART IV

Amazon.com essential recording

There is a considerable amount of austerity in almost all Morton Feldman's compositions, but For Philip Guston is exceptional. It's exceptional in its unyieldingly austere spaciousness and in the composer's equally unyielding conviction that time was not an issue for the unfolding of his compositions. For Philip Guston lasts over four hours, with only three instrumentalists--Eberhard Blum on flute, piccolo, and alto flute; Nils Vigeland on piano and celesta; and Jan Williams on glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, and chimes. Invoking the visual art of abstract expressionist painter Guston, Feldman utilizes crawling, eerie atonalities as well as extremely generous spacing and phrase construction to make one of New Music's most categorical refractions of other new arts movements in the post-World War II era. Here, Feldman broadens the colors of each instrument's palette by focusing so intently on the way notes take shape--from the first wisps to the dissonant stretches, to the luminescent fades. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Hypnotic Sound Canvas.......2003-12-31

The relationship between Feldman and Philip Guston was perhaps the strongest mutual influence in the New York School of Painters and Musicians. Feldman was friends with all the New York School Painters, but with Guston there was a deep aesthetic bond. Guston's love affair with color in his Abstract Expressionist period is similar to Feldman's love of sheer sound...interestingly, both men were criticized for creating works that were "too beautiful" in a time when beauty had become suspect in Art. But later in life, the two men became estranged. Guston returned to figuration in his late, ominous cartoon-like works, and Feldman never quite forgave the betrayal of the Abstract Expressionist ideals by his friend. Though they never officially broke the friendship, the close bonds they had once had cooled.

But when Guston died in 1980, the floodgates poured out for Feldman. For Philip Guston, completed in 1984, was one of a series of late works that were tributes to Feldman's friends, both living and dead. For Philip Guston is one of the longest of these works, clocking in at around four hours, depending on tempo chosen. By the time of these late works, Feldman was more interested in "scale" than in form, and For Philip Guston is one of his longest works, topped only by the Second String Quartet. It is scored for one of Feldman's most common instrumental groupings, flute (doubling alto flute) percussion (mostly mallet percussion) and piano (doubling Celeste). The work unfolds in an almost timeless manner. Beginning with a haunting "theme" of four notes, the three instruments circle around each other, floating in and out of tonality, at barely a whisper for the full four hours. Feldman's ear for complex harmony and the unique sounds of his instruments is astounding. And his balance between sound and silence is almost hypnotic.

The ensemble on this disc has an incredible pedigree in this music. Both Blum and Williams played regularly with Feldman as a trio and the work was written for them. There is never a sense of hurry, nor of the incredible concentration that is required to interpret the rhythmic complexities of this work. All three players show a great sense of tonal balance and control, essential for this music, and Vigeland coaxes warmth out of the piano that approaches the unique sound of Feldman himself on piano. The other competing set for this work, The California EAR Unit on New Albion, is also an excellent performance, but to my ear, this Hat Hut recording has the edge, both in performance and in sonics.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Become the Other [Original recording remastered]

Carl Reinecke: Sämtliche Kinderlieder, Vol. 2

Classic Recordings

Young Mulligan

Sunset Wading [Import]

Free Soul Vibes [Import]

Every Kind in the Net

Darius Milhaud: Complete Piano Works, Volume 2

Discovery Channel: Travel Channel -- Around the World