Morton Feldman's late work For Philip Guston, running to four and a half hours without a break, was performed live in London by the GBSR Duo at Kings Place as part of the Memory Unwrapped series. The piece, dedicated to the abstract expressionist painter and Feldman's close friend, is known for its extreme length and minimalist structure.
The work's musical material is derived from an opening sequence of four pitches, which are transformed, transposed, stretched and compressed throughout. The tempo remains consistently slow and the dynamic consistently quiet, with complex rhythms that make moments of absolute synchrony rare. Feldman once quipped about the piece's scale, 'it's a short four hours!'
The performance presented challenges for the audience, with seats creaking, late arrivals, and phones buzzing. However, after an initial period of acclimatisation, the immersive sound world created by the performers became unforgettable. Taylor MacLennan's flute playing produced notes that seemed to materialise from nowhere, while Siwan Rhys and George Barton switched between piano, celeste, vibraphone, glockenspiel, marimba and tubular bells, with shifts that appeared increasingly revelatory.
Feldman and Guston were close friends until the artist re-embraced figurative painting, leading to what the composer described as a 'break up because of style'. The work was dedicated to Guston after his death in 1980. The live performance demonstrated the impossibility of complete abstraction in music, but the intense concentration of the performers made it an unforgettable experience.
