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.
13 Facts About Morton Feldman
2.
Morton Feldman was born in Woodside, Queens, into a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants.
3.
Morton Feldman's parents, Irving Feldman and Frances Breskin Feldman, emigrated to New York from Pereiaslav and Bobruysk.
4.
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 studied under Franz Schreker and Anton Webern.
5.
In early 1950 Morton Feldman heard the New York Philharmonic perform Anton Webern's Symphony, op.
6.
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.
7.
Morton Feldman found inspiration in the paintings of the abstract expressionists, and in the 1970s wrote a number of pieces around 20 minutes in length, including Rothko Chapel and For Frank O'Hara.
8.
Morton Feldman's music "changed radically" in 1970, moving away from graphic and arhythmic notation systems and toward rhythmic precision.
9.
In 1973, at the age of 47, Morton Feldman became the Edgard Varese Professor at the University at Buffalo.
10.
Until then, Morton Feldman had earned his living as a full-time employee at the family textile business in New York's garment district.
11.
Morton Feldman said that quiet sounds had begun to be the only ones that interested him.
12.
Morton Feldman married the Canadian composer Barbara Monk shortly before his death.
13.
Morton Feldman died of pancreatic cancer in 1987 at his home in Buffalo, New York.