‘Alexander Melnikov’

Morton Feldman is a magician: his compositions often last a few hours and, although they seem to
be very calm on the surface, his music is incredibly compelling and will keep you glued to your seat. The American had a wayward, refreshing view of music. He questioned everything, from the length of the work to the rhythm, the accepted tonal value of notes and even the conventional notation of music. Alexander Melnikov plays Triadic Memories, Feldman’s most famous work for the piano, written in 1981. The composer wrote this piece for avant-garde pianists Aki Takahashi and Rodger Woodward. He did not specify the tempo. The smattering of notes in the first two bars is the only foundation for everything that follows in the next 90 minutes. Triadic Memories is absolute music, as pure as Bach’s fugues.