Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello was Morton Feldman’s last work, first performed in July 1987, just two months before he died. Lasting 75 minutes, the music unfolds at an even, leisurely pace, built out of rocking, repeating figures that move in and out of phase between the four instruments, the details of their patterns always changing minutely. Dynamic levels don’t alter throughout the work, and neither does the tempo. In comparison with his other works of the 1980s, the level of dissonance is quite high; the music is much more confined to the middle registers, only beginning to spiral upwards in the closing minutes, when the emphasis on chords is replaced by flurries of linear figures, only to be cut off abruptly, leaving the music hanging in mid-air. It’s austere and demanding, and by no means the easiest of Feldman’s late works to come to terms with. I’d prefer a recording that puts more space around the instruments than they get here, though the commitment and concentration of the players can’t be faulted.
