At one point [Cardew] taught himself to play guitar simply in order to take part in the performance in a composition by Boulez, which is a little like saying he learned Danish to read Kiekegaard.
Morton FeldmanFor me it's the instrument. If I want to think of a flute and the state of the arts I hear a vibrato; I don't know what a flute is unless the person plays it for me
Morton FeldmanI never feel that my music is sparse or minimalist; the way fat people never really think they're fat. I certainly don't consider myself minimalist at all
Morton FeldmanWhat was great about the 50s is that for one brief moment - maybe, say, six weeks - nobody understood art.
Morton FeldmanI have a very dear friend, a great painter, called me up very upset, the work wasnโt going wellโฆ He asked me to come to his studio -- which I did -- I looked around at the work, dozens of sketches, drawings, large pictures, and I was very close to his work, intensely involved with his work, and he asked me, โWhatโs wrong?โ And I said, โSimple โ itโs a loss of nerve.
Morton Feldman