This intimate recital traces a path through the musical world of Morton Feldman, one of the most distinctive and influential voices of the twentieth century. 2026 marks the centenary of Feldman’s birth.

Feldman (1926-1987) is best known for writing music that ranges from soft to barely audible. The program includes a rare opportunity to hear Palais de Mari (1986), Feldman’s final work for piano and one of his most profound late creations.

The program also features works by John Cage, Philip Corner and Tom Johnson, composers who shaped, inspired and intersected with Feldman’s artistic life.

2026 is also the centenary of Hungarian composer György Kurtág, another master of sounds at the threshold of audibility, who is still composing in his 100th year. Feldman and Kurtág shared admiration for the work of Samuel Beckett, whose poetry appears in the program, along with poetry by another centenarian, Frank O’Hara (1926-1966), a close friend of Feldman’s.

Presented without interval, this approximately 70-minute performance offers a rare opportunity to experience Feldman’s unique sound world alongside music by some of the most adventurous figures of twentieth-century music.

Performer:

Stephen Whittington, piano

As part of the MOD. x Elder Conservatorium: Sounding the Future series
Co-presented with the J. M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice.