According to the composer, this
piece is "a bit like walking through the streets of Berlin -- where
all the buildings look alike, even if they’re not." If that’s the
case, perhaps we all should visit Berlin periodically, as Feldman’s
distinctive sound world is unlike any other, and in marked contrast
to say, the "new complexity," just to cite a genre at the
opposite end of the spectrum. This work, like many of his others, is
long (ninety minutes without pause) and very soft; the dynamic level
rarely rises above "ppp." It is a remarkable piece,
especially when performed with the concentration and artistry shown
here by the talented Marilyn Nonken.
In her refreshingly straightforward
program notes, she explained that she chose "to maintain a steady
eighth-note pulse throughout that approximates the heart rate at rest."
This is substantially slower than in some of the recordings (i.e., versions
by Takahashi or Goldstein), and the result was an almost physical sense
of tranquility that pervaded the performance and lingered for hours
afterward.
The work begins with notes at
either end of the keyboard, in the highest and lowest registers. These
spare, delicate, but deliberately placed phrases are repeated with slight
variations, and then slowly close in, collapsing, expanding, and breathing
in mesmerizing patterns. Clusters of major and minor second intervals
seem especially present in many of Feldman’s designs, but perhaps because
I still had last week’s concert version of Pelléas et Melisande
in my head, I heard a good deal of Debussy in the score. And despite
the seeming simplicity, Nonken found colors that might have evaded lesser
artists, and deployed an exquisite sense of timing to create Feldman’s
grandly scaled surface. Watching her liquid, graceful hands hovering
above the piano, about to rest on the next chord, I thought, What
if a finger accidentally lands and produces a sound slightly louder
-- say, mezzoforte? It is a tribute to Nonken’s stunning expertise
that she maintained the crystalline, meditative mood for the entire
span.
I eventually checked my watch
-- once -- not out of impatience but because I was surprised at how
much time had passed: about an hour’s worth. As with Cage’s work, one
is aware of tiny sounds in the room: a ballpoint pen clacking as it
hits the floor, a program dropped with that little swooshing thud as
it hit the ground, someone’s stomach in a muffled gurgle, throats softly
clearing. Perhaps miraculously, we were treated to a mobile phone-less
occasion, unfortunately the exception these days.
Subtle lighting has become a hallmark
of Miller Theatre in recent years, and in this case the design enhanced
the slowly evolving, contemplative score. Wearing a stylish short black
dress, Nonken was silhouetted against a dark, maroon-colored background,
which gradually brightened to scarlet, with the hues then cycling through
lawn-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and ending with a brilliant sky
blue as the piece came to rest, exactly 87 minutes later. (Thanks to
an anonymous listener sitting behind me, who supplied the timing.)
As a slightly amusing side note,
Nonken noted that the score requires the pianist to depress the pedal
halfway throughout the entire piece, an instruction that was completed
with Nonken wearing calf-length black leather boots, with very high
heels. I would have thought that a piece like this would mandate more
comfortable footwear, but can only muse that in this case, it played
some small role in the extraordinary success of the afternoon.
Bruce Hodges
NB: In addition to Nonken’s
notes, I am grateful to Chris Villars, for maintaining the following
immensely helpful page of links to Feldman’s work and commentary about
it:
http://www.cnvill.demon.co.uk/mfhome.htm
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