Performed by Morton Feldman's original ensemble at a posthumous celebration of his work held at the 2000 season of June in Buffalo – the annual new-music festival he established in 1975 – this version of his classic "Crippled Symmetry" perfectly captures the poise at the heart of his music.
The quizzical flute figure that opens the piece sets in train an interleaving of piano, woodwind and tuned percussion lines that hover expectantly on the brink of revelation. It's an extraordinary act of balancing, in which sounds hang suspended like an aural Alexander Calder mobile, static yet infinitely shifting in their relationships – a feat requiring special skill and judgement as regards timing, amplitude, etc, peerlessly achieved by this trio.
Download: Crippled Symmetry
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies