Amy Williams: Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories

By the early 1980s, American composer Morton Feldman (1926–1987) began to create works of unusually long duration, featuring intricate interplays of pitches and patterns that slowly unfold (and sometimes suddenly change) over time. Among these works is the evening-length solo piano composition Triadic Memories (1981), performed in this concert by distinguished pianist and composer Amy Williams.

Amy Williams is a composer of music that is “simultaneously demanding, rewarding and fascinating” (Buffalo News), “fresh, daring and incisive” (Fanfare). Her compositions have been presented at renowned contemporary music venues in the United States, Australia, Asia and Europe by leading contemporary music soloists and ensembles, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, JACK Quartet, Bent Frequency, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Wet Ink, Talujon, International Contemporary Ensemble, Junction Trio. Orpheus, pianist Ursula Oppens, soprano Tony Arnold and bassist Robert Black. Her pieces appear on the Albany, Parma, VDM (Italy), Blue Griffin, Centaur and New Ariel labels. As a member of the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo, Ms. Williams has performed throughout Europe and the Americas and recorded six critically-acclaimed CDs for Wergo (works of Nancarrow, Stravinsky, Varèse/Feldman and Kurtág), as well as appearing on the Neos and Albany labels. Williams has been awarded a Howard Foundation Fellowship, Fromm Music Foundation Commission, Guggenheim Fellowship, Koussevitsky Music Foundation Commission, Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Fulbright Scholars Fellowship to Ireland (2017-2018) and a MacDowell fellow (2022). Williams holds a Ph.D. in composition from the University at Buffalo, where she also received her Master’s degree in piano performance. She has taught at Bennington College and Northwestern University and is currently Professor of Composition at the University of Pittsburgh. She is Artistic Director of the New Music On The Point Festival in Vermont.