Few ensembles have felt compelled to address Morton Feldman's epic Second String Quartet in its entirety, but the Flux Quartet is determined to give the work its due diligence with a Boston-area premiere at MIT's Killian Hall on Feb. 28.
The avant garde is a wide spectrum, laden with pieces like John Cage's 4'33," in which the environment, with all its natural noises and happenings, provides the soundscape for the music. But for Feldman's musical tapestries, a six-hour concerto may appear slightly too long.
The piece requires both physical and mental stamina to properly perform, and fortitude from audience members who listen for all six hours of its performance.
But the Flux Quartet has had prior experience with this work. The group, which formed in 1998, first played Feldman in 1999 and found the experience one worth taking with them. In fact, it will be violinist Tom Chiu's 13th iteration of the piece.
In an interview, Chiu said in an interview:
"Because of the novelty and terrain of the unknown in the very early performances [of Feldman's Quartet], it was like, OK, we have to do a two- or two-and-a-half-hour continuous chunk to make sure we're able to do it, both physically and mentally. ... The dauntingness of it has decreased, because we know that we can do it. But as that aspect of the challenge has decreased, it's also increased our enjoyment of the piece. If you're not focused on the difficulty of the task, then you can step away and really be in the music."
Check out a slightly shorter verison of the piece below (if you dare).
