1. Morton Feldman's works are characterized by notational innovations that he developed to create his characteristic sound: rhythms that seem to be free and floating, pitch shadings that seem softly unfocused, a generally quiet and slowly evolving music, and recurring asymmetric patterns.
Morton Feldman was born in Woodside, Queens, New York City, on January 12,1926.
Morton Feldman's parents, Irving and Frances Breskin Feldman, were Russian Jews who had emigrated to New York from Pereiaslav and Bobruysk.
Morton Feldman's first composition teachers were Wallingford Riegger, one of the first American followers of Arnold Schoenberg, and Stefan Wolpe, a German-born Jewish composer who had studied under Franz Schreker and Anton Webern.
In early 1950, Morton Feldman heard the New York Philharmonic perform Webern's Symphony.
An interview with Morton Feldman was published in the first issue of 0 to 9 magazine in 1967.
Morton Feldman experimented with nonstandard systems of musical notation, often using grids in his scores, and specifying how many notes should be played at a certain time but not which ones.
Morton Feldman found inspiration in abstract expressionist painting, and in the 1970s wrote a number of pieces around 20 minutes in length, including Rothko Chapel and For Frank O'Hara.
Morton Feldman's music "changed radically" in 1970, moving away from graphic and arhythmic notation systems in favor of rhythmic precision.
In 1973, at age 47, Morton Feldman became the Edgard Varese Professor of Music Composition at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York; until then, he had earned his living as a full-time employee at the family textile business in Manhattan's Garment District.
Morton Feldman held residencies at the University of California, San Diego in the 1980s.
Late in his career, Morton Feldman produced a number of very long works, rarely shorter than half an hour and often much longer.
Morton Feldman married the Canadian composer Barbara Monk shortly before his death.
Morton Feldman died of pancreatic cancer on September 3,1987, at his home in Buffalo.