A Comparative Analysis of Works by Morton Feldman

The purpose of this paper is to show that the years 1970-1976 were a period of transition in the career of American composer Morton Feldman (1926-1987), the choice of these years determined by (a) Feldman's return to the use of purely traditional notation after many years of experimentation and (b) the date of the last work of less than ten minutes duration. This is accomplished by analyzing four works which date from this period, Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety, The Viola In My Life (2), Voices and Instruments, and Routine Investigations; generalizations are then made from the four analyses which are reinforced by observations drawn from two additional works that date from this period, Rothko Chapel and Instruments (1). Two works that pre- and postdate this period, Eleven Instruments from 1953 and Principal Sound from 1980, are then analyzed relative to the generalizations drawn from the works dating from 1970-1976; Eleven Instruments is found to have little if anything in common with the works from 1970-1976, while the opposite is true for Principal Sound.

Name thesis:degree_name

D.M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Musical Arts

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Bohn, David Mark

Contributors dc:contributor

• Brooks, William

• Music

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1994 Bohn, David Mark

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

AAI9512303
(UMI)AAI9512303

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/19425