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American Sublime Festival Focuses on Morton Feldman in Philadelphia

Jun. 01, 2011

Bowerbird, the pioneering Philadelphia-based new music organization dedicated to exposing the public to provocative and divergent music traditions, presents American Sublime: a two-week festival celebrating the music of Morton Feldman and marking one of the largest surveys of his music ever mounted in the US. Hosted in six venues across Philadelphia from June 4 through 12, the festival includes seven concerts by leading performers and ensembles of our time including the JACK Quartet, Joan La Barbara, the Flux Quartet, Either/Or ensemble, Marilyn Nonken, Amy Williams, Gordon Beefermann and cellist Jonathan Golove. Focusing on the later works of Feldman, American Sublime opens with Feldman’s piano work Triadic Memories, performed by Marilyn Nonken whose recording on Mode Records was heralded by critics.  A substantial work spanning 94 minutes, Feldman describes this composition as “a conscious attempt at formalizing a disorientation of memory.”

The festival centerpiece comes on the concluding concert on June 12 as the Flux Quartet perform the rarely heard String Quartet No. 2. The work spans six hours and will be performed in the sanctuary of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral. Audience members are invited to come and go as they please and the performance is open to the public.

Several supplemental events scheduled throughout the festival round out this immersive Feldman experience. Events include: panel discussions and talks on topics relating to Feldman’s creative life, including a panel discussion with Jan Williams and Renee Levine Packer about Feldman's time in Buffalo; a workshop on extended vocal technique led by Joan La Barbara; a presentation on Feldman's Turkish Rugs by Gallery51 owner Craig Wallen; a lecture on Feldman's notational idiosyncrasies by Matthew Welch, and more.

American Sublime takes its name from an essay written by Alex Ross that discusses two important elements of Feldman’s music: its vital role in the American experimental tradition and the numinous quality of his music, akin to the paintings of his close friend, Mark Rothko. 

To view the schedule and find out about all the festival events, visit www.americansublime.org.

To learn about Morton Feldman and his work, go to www.universaledition.com.

Morton Feldman
Rothko Chapel (1971)
for soprano, alto, mixed choir and instruments
celesta, viola and percussion
30’

Triadic Memories (1981)
for solo piano
90'

Patterns in a Chromatic Field (1981)
for cello and piano
90'

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