Morton Feldman/FLUX Quartet — String Quartet No. 1, Three Pieces for String Quar

This recent two Cd & one DVD set brings together three string quartet work from one of the great avant garde classical /minimalism composers of the 20th century- Morton Feldman. New Yorker Feldman is most known for his slow & quiet compositions, which revolve around steadily evolving asymmetric patterns, angular notation, and moving/deeply sad harmonic patterns. The central piece of this collection- the hour & an half piece String Quartet No 1, is some what of a departure from Feldman’s normal slow/ quiet musical landscape- as it’s mixes together his patterned based music with sudden jarring dwells in loud & dense compositional rises.

The three disc set comes in a classy looking grey card folder, which takes in on its front cover a black & white picture of be-speckled Feldman smoking a cigarette. The three compositions are spread over the two CDs(with String Quartet No 1 split in two over the two CDs), and the DVD disc offers unbroken playing of all three pieces with a total running time of just one hour & fifty mintues. Included in the set you get a twenty page booklet thay takes in English/German/French write-ups about the pieces, and its players San Francisco based modern classic string quartet Flux Quartet.

Starting off the set we have the lengthiest  work on offer here String Quartet no1- this piece was composed in 1979 by Feldman, and for this playing it lasts 1 hour, 29 mintues & 49 seconds. Like much of Feldman’s work this piece is built around a series of sonic patterns & shapes- these change & (sometimes) reappear through-out the pieces length.  These patterns/shapes move between mysterious & foreboding  soft chord flows, which resolve themselves in very quite single note drifts. Through to dense weaves of  sawing & picking string work, onto very loud & suddenly jarring rises. Normally with Feldman’s work you can drift off into the quiet, angular & melancholic shapes of the composition, but String Quartet no1 really does keep you on your toes with it’s shifting pace & type of patterns- sure this is a hour & a half piece, but due to it’s shifting & rewarding unfold that times seems to fly by. 

Next we have the track Structures, which was composed in 1951 by Feldman. This just under six minute pieces is built around a series of  shifting patterns- which move between urgent & taut angular note shapes, to more considered & trouble/ locked swoons ‘n’ picks. There’s a really spritely urgency to the pieces at times, yet there is also a troubled/ manic edge here too.

Lastly we have the suite of Three Pieces For String Quartet, and these were composed between 1954 & 1956. The first piece is built around moody & brooding low end string hovers, which are ebbed with sawing/picked string patterns.
The second piece deepens the sombre  mood as it’s built around a slowing mix of bleak low-end swoons & mid-range moody saws
The final piece revolves around a even slower & considered mixture of thinner & quite low-end hovers, and melancholic/ slight angular picks & saws.
All told it’s a compelling just under fourteen minute suite, which slowly but surely declines in pace yet deepens in mood.

As one would expect with a Feldman's work the recording quality & sound definition is superb, so you can hear ever element of The Flux Quartet playing.  And The Quartet themselves play all three works with such great detail, balance, & flare- showing a wonderfully ability to play & present Feldman’s difficult music in such a compelling manner.

All in al this is a very classy & well presented collection of Feldman’s early String Quartet works, and well worth tracking down if you’re a fan of 20th Century avant garde classical/minimalism.