In 2000, Eberhard Blum, Nils Vigeland, and Jan Williams came together once more as “The Feldman Soloists” to perform Crippled Symmetry, the trio Feldman composed for them, on the 25th anniversary celebration of the festival he founded. The recording of this concert is now finally available on CD, and is destined to become the reference release of this work.
Required listening for all fans of Feldman’s rich, hypnotic world of enigmatic harmony and mnemonic echo. Mastered by Denis Blackham, and presented in a card package which unfolds to reveal the musicians’ “butterfly-like” arrangement on stage.


“As an example of the unique treasures that Feldman’s late music has to offer, it couldn’t be bettered.”
Andrew Clements, The Guardian“It’s an extraordinary act of balancing, in which sounds hang suspended like an aural Alexander Calder mobile, static yet infinitely shifting in their relationships – a feat requiring special skill and judgement as regards timing, amplitude, etc, peerlessly achieved by this trio.”
Andy Gill, The Independent
“This is not just the definitive performance of “Crippled Symmetry,” it is one of the best-sounding discs in Feldman’s ever-expanding discography. Moreover, with its lavish packaging, Crippled Symmetry: at June in Buffalo makes for the ideal introduction to this composer’s seemingly forbidding late works.”
Rodger Coleman, Spectrum Culture
“Feldman’s leisurely, hypnotic pacing feels like the product of a less pressured, more innocent age. Compulsive listening.”
Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk |
“Intermittent creaks and sniffs come with the territory, but you hardly notice, such are the intensity, luminosity and sense of occasion in this mesmerizing account.”
Steve Smith, The New York Times“As a reviewer all I can say is that this performance is exceptionally sensitively heard and expertly measured… And so we’re talking about another essential layer of jam squeezed inside the doughnut of our understanding – more important than an ‘alternative’ recording in the usual sense.”
Philip Clark, Gramophone
“The trio overlay individual harmonic patterns of flute/bass flute, vibraphone/glockenspiel, and piano/celeste, resulting in asymmetric juxtapositions of tonal sighs and melodic decay that soothe the listener like warm beams of morning light through a latticed arbor of trees.”
Andrew Male, Mojo
“In his notes for this release Blum suggests that the occasion had a special magic. No need to take his word for that; simply listen.”
Julian Cowley, The Wire |
The Feldman Soloists:
Eberhard Blum (flute, alto flute, bass flute)
Jan Williams (glockenspiel, vibraphone)
Nils Vigeland (piano, celesta)
Double CD set in slim card package.
Catalogue number: fr1/2
Barcode: 6419369992613
Promotional photos: Elena Zichon – http://www.zichon.com/
Artist/composer photos: courtesy of Morton Feldman Papers, Music Library, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.
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