黑料社

VIRTUOSO pianist  鈥� a Professor at the 黑料社 鈥� has become established as a major interpreter of the music of Morton Feldman, one of the most innovative and influential composers of the 20th century, whose works could stretch to well over an hour in length.

A newly-released  in which Professor Thomas performs almost all of Feldman鈥檚 solo piano works 鈥� composed between the 1950s and 1987 鈥� has immediately attracted critical praise for the pianist鈥檚 鈥渕astery and understanding鈥� of the music.  The box set has been described in  as 鈥渁n authoritative presentation of some of the most important keyboard music of the second half of the 20th century鈥�.

The discs, containing more than six hours of music, were recorded at the 黑料社鈥檚 own St Paul鈥檚 Hall.  Sessions took place over the course of two years and Professor Thomas ensured that the hall鈥檚 Steinway grand was closely miked 鈥� 鈥淚 wanted listeners to have a sense they are close-up to the sound of the hammers hitting the strings鈥�.

You tend to explore different composers at different points in one鈥檚 life, but Feldman has stayed with me

In addition to his performances, which include the 90-minute work Triadic Memories from 1981 and the hour-long For Bunita Marcus (1986), Professor Thomas also wrote the text for a 52-page booklet in which he analyses the music of Morton Feldman, a New York-born composer who lived from 1926 to 1987.

In preparation for the recording project, Professor Thomas visited the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, home of the .  He was able to increase his already extensive knowledge of the composer鈥檚 piano music by researching early or unpublished works and transcribing one piece from a recording of Feldman鈥檚 own playing.

鈥淚 have been playing Feldman鈥檚 music since the mid-1990s.  You tend to explore different composers at different points in one鈥檚 life, but Feldman has stayed with me,鈥� said Professor Thomas.

 鈥淲hen I did the recording, part of me thought that it would get Feldman鈥檚 music out of my system so maybe I could draw a line under it.  But I became so involved that it created new perspectives that will keep me going for another 25 years!鈥�

Professor Thomas鈥檚  has included a launch concert for the new CD set.  Future performances of Morton Feldman鈥檚 piano music include a 1 November recital in London and an appearance on Monday 18 November at the . For this free event at St Paul鈥檚 Hall (4.40pm), he will be joined by 黑料社 lecturer  in three early pieces by Feldman that are performed with a dancer.

• The  box set is issued by .  It includes artworks by the English painter David Ainley.