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Reviewed by:
  • String Quartet No. 2
  • Eugene Thacker
String Quartet No. 2 by Morton Feldman , performed by Flux Quartet. Mode Records, New York, 2002. Audio DVD or 5 CD set, 6 hr 7 min 7 sec. Mode 112/Feldman Edition 6. Distributor’s web site: <http://www.moderecords.com/catalog/112feldman.html>.

To many, the idea of listening to a 6-hour string quartet would not only be implausible, but also impractical. Trips to the restroom are needed. And food. Perhaps something to read, a book or magazine. Even the most rudimentary set-up would still retain elements of the world that would interrupt the listening. Interruptions abound. Nowhere is this more evident than when one meditates. But there is nothing mystical in this. People meditate, in the most general sense, all the time—on yoga mats, in temples or in churches, yes, but also on the train or the plane, waiting in line, waiting for someone.

Morton Feldman’s String Quartet No. 2 was composed in the early 1980s. It forms part of the later Feldman oeuvre, in which single works with minimal instrumentation would last for extended periods of time (the piece “Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello” might also be mentioned here). At just over 6 hours, the String Quartet No. 2 (hereafter SQ2) stands out among even Feldman’s later works. Its duration alone raises a number of questions: Am I supposed to listen to this in one sitting? If not, then how do I listen to it? Is it necessary to listen to the first hour in order to appreciate the sixth hour? And how are the performers able to play this piece?

For a long time, a recording of the SQ2 has not been available, until Mode released this version, part of their collection of Feldman’s works. Performed by the Flux Quartet, the Mode edition of the SQ2 is played with remarkable delicacy and consistency. I half-expected the performers to become fatigued by the fifth hour, but even the most ethereal and dissipative chords are played by Flux with the same attention to detail in the last hour as the first. Mode has made the SQ2 available in two formats: a 5-CD set or a single audio DVD. For convenience, track markers are included and refer to page numbers in Feldman’s composition (over 120 pages, using Feldman’s grid technique).

Tom Chiu, violinist for the Flux Quartet, points out in the liner notes that the quartet had to undertake a sort of training for this performance that was analogous to that of a marathon runner. It would make sense, then, that the same applies to the listener. And at this point many would balk. We are used to our music being on-demand, instantly downloadable and capable of being shuffled on our iPods or played ambiently in the background as we work. So there is a commitment involved. Although, whereas the Flux Quartet performs the entire 6-hour piece, we as listeners can, of course, choose from several listening options—an hour at a time, bits here and there, etc. I couldn’t help wondering, though, what would it be like to listen to the entire piece in one sitting, as a whole?

So, I followed the Flux Quartet’s cue and developed a simple listening protocol. I would casually listen to different parts of the piece to become familiar with the basic “sound” that Feldman explores. Then I chose a weekend day and blocked out enough time. My cell phone was turned off. I forbade myself to use the computer, read a book or busy myself with chores. Now, the ideal listening situation would be to simply sit down, put on headphones, press play and stare at the wall for 6 hours. That’s the ideal. But of course there will be bathroom breaks, a snack, coffee or tea, stretching. Despite all this, the biggest obstacle was not these pragmatic concerns, but rather impatience, boredom.

The SQ2 is not a conventional piece for string quartet. It doesn’t develop linearly in time. Instead, it is composed of a series of modules, each of which is itself composed of combinations of repeating...

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