NDR das neue werk: Morton Feldman

Film and painting were among the genres of art that always fascinated Feldman. Thus it was no coincidence that he made his breakthrough as a young composer in the early 1950s, when he was invited to participate in a project that combined the two genres: he was offered the prestigious commission to write the music for Hans Namuth’s film documentary about the great American painter Jackson Pollock. He was paid in kind – with a Pollock drawing. It came as no surprise, then, that further soundtracks followed, including outstanding music for another portrait of a painter, a film biography of De Kooning that appeared 12 years later.

The ensemble recherche plays these central Feldman compositions live while the film is shown on a screen in each case; they form part of a well-balanced programme of chamber music featuring more of the composer’s most appealing and effective works.