It would be hard to imagine two late twentieth century American masters of the avant-garde with more disparate aesthetics and approaches to composition than Morton Feldman and Milton Babbitt, so this pairing of pieces for the same ensemble, clarinet and string quartet, is especially intriguing. Feldman composed almost entirely intuitively and instinctively, and Babbitt works with mathematical logic within rigorously systematic parameters. They are alike in their philosophical basis for creating art, however; Feldman was, ...
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It would be hard to imagine two late twentieth century American masters of the avant-garde with more disparate aesthetics and approaches to composition than Morton Feldman and Milton Babbitt, so this pairing of pieces for the same ensemble, clarinet and string quartet, is especially intriguing. Feldman composed almost entirely intuitively and instinctively, and Babbitt works with mathematical logic within rigorously systematic parameters. They are alike in their philosophical basis for creating art, however; Feldman was, and Babbitt remains, utterly committed to a distinctive artistic vision, regardless of how extreme or off-putting the results might seem to average concert-goers. The performances here are impeccable. Clarinetist Mark Lieb and members of the New York-based Phoenix Ensemble play with absolute commitment; their care in putting each of these pieces over with the intent to sell listeners on each composer's work is evident in the energy and nuance of their performances. This is especially...
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