The USA is makes loud, bold statements, and yet, reductionism is actually part of its culture. The New York School, to which Morton Feldman and Earle Brown also belonged, is synonymous with this “less is more” approach. Here the smallest fragments and motifs are varied, creating minimal structures which are then meticulously transformed through time, form and space. Both Feldman and Brown would have celebrated their 100th birthdays in 2026, reason enough for a tribute! Feldman’s Dirge. In Memory of Thomas Wolfe and Brown's The Kind of Bird I Am have been unearthed from the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel and will be performed in Switzerland for the first time. Dirge has not been performed since its world premiere with Feldman conducting. John Adams' Harmonielehre is an American response to Arnold Schoenberg's 1910/11 treatise of the same name. It combines Mahlerian romanticism with the striking drive and dazzling timbres of 1970s “minimal music” – an energetic, highly explosive fireworks display.

Morton Feldman — Dirge. In Memory of Thomas Wolfe (1943) — Episode (1949) — Orchestra (1976)
Earle Brown — The Kind of Bird I Am (1957)
John Adams — Harmonielehre (1985)

Basel Sinfonietta
Titus Engel — conductor

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