Crippled Symmetries – Berlin Prologue

Das sagt der/die Veranstalter:in:

To mark Morton Feldman's 100th birthday, KNM Berlin uses his late work "Crippled Symmetry" as general idea and starting point for an international concert series. Crippled Symmetry was one of the pieces Feldman composed specifically for his ensemble "Morton Feldman and Soloists." He was inspired by the asymmetrical variations in the ornamentation of handmade carpets. Crippled Symmetry is the musical equivalent of something slightly displaced, something imprecise. No score exists for this work. Furthermore, the three musicians' notes do not specify where and how they should synchronize over the approximately 75-minute playing time. This creates a sound work with an elastic temporal progression, irregularities of the patterns come to the fore.

This special concert is the prologue to KNM Berlin's guest performance at MaerzMusik 2026 and the "Crippled Symmetries" festival in April. The international concert series will also take the ensemble to Athens, Busan (Korea), Kiel, Lima (Peru), and Nantou (Taiwan). The project focuses on contemporary music in an intercultural context, based on re.petitions, re.cyclings, re.settings, and re.readings.

Morton Feldman: "Crippled Symmetry" (1983)

for flute(s), percussion, piano (also celesta), approx. 75 min

Ensemble KNM Berlin

Rebecca Lenton, flutes | Joseph Houston, piano/celesta | Michael Weilacher, percussion

Funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation. Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. With the kind support of the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.