Celebrating Morton Feldman at 100

An introduction by Dr Anne Shreffler, Professor of Music at Harvard, on Feldman’s connections to and reception in Germany.

Morton Feldman’s extraordinary late solo piano work, “Triadic Memories” (1981) is a study in slowly evolving repetitions over the 75-minute duration. The composer described the piece as “the biggest butterfly in captivity.” Exact repetitions, subtle variations, shifting patterns and fresh new materials are interwoven. Materials are constantly recontextualized, using different voicing and registers, changing one note of a chord, juxtaposing new harmonies—always changing and always soft. The piece is not outwardly triadic (the harmonies are built entirely of seconds, sevenths and augmented fourths), but triads emerge through the hazy resonance. Some materials happen only once, while others are repeated, varied and recontextualized. The listener is taken on a journey of deep concentration and reflection.

Pianist/composer Amy Williams has been connected to Feldman’s music since her childhood—her father and Feldman were close colleagues at the University of Buffalo. She has recorded and performed his music for nearly three decades.

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