Feldman: The Viola in My Life

Featuring

Alja Velkavehr-Roskams
Antoine Tamestit
Bonian Tian
Paulo Álvares
Harry Ogg
Blaž Šparovec

François-Xavier Roth
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln
Morton Feldman

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Composer Biography

Morton Feldman, the composer, experienced a particularly difficult creative period around the time he composed "The Viola in My Life."

Recording & Production

This recording was made in Cologne, Germany, with movement IV recorded in May 2022 at the Kölner Philharmonie and movements I-II-III recorded in February 2023 at the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln rehearsal room.

Composer's Artistic Vision

In "The Viola in My Life," Morton Feldman moved away from the indeterminate compositional principles he had used in the 1950s, opting for precise notation to control sound and silence durations.

Instruments

Antoine Tamestit, the violist on this recording, plays a viola made by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona in 1672, on loan from the Stradivari Stiftung Habisreutinger.

Composition History

Morton Feldman composed "The Viola in My Life" cycle specifically for violist Karen Phillips, with whom he was in love at the time.

Compositional Technique

The cycle "The Viola in My Life" marks a departure for Morton Feldman by explicitly introducing melody with more extended lines than in his previous works.

Compositional Technique

Morton Feldman used a crescendo effect for the first time in "The Viola in My Life I," comparing it to "a bird trying to soar in a confined landscape."