Morton Feldman completed String Quartet in 1979. Because none of his string quartets have any other title, only their date discerns them among titles. This work also gives a clear indication of its placement among Feldman's catalog. Those with a broad sense of the American composer's output will hear a cohesive eventfulness that was soon to be distilled further, into the most completely abstract, monochrome textures of his final pieces from the 1980s. While this work bears a mostly uniform, quiet soundscape, the occasional forte outburst and other anomalies the in score make it more unpredictable than the later works, which steep in their own ideas to the exclusion of any irregular outburst. Certain liberties can be taken with this work's tempo, which was premiered in 1980 to a final duration of 100 minutes, while later renditions have shaved as much as 20 minutes from that length. Listeners may regard it as one of the late Feldman works, "but with things in it," meaning that the contrasting moments lend the score a quality of finding brief discrepancies in the work's overall tone. This gives the meditative quality of the music a hint of adventure as well. As with any score of Feldman's from the 1970s and 1980s, the manner in which listeners are absorbed into the material is unique to his manner of writing. His pieces question what music and abstraction are, while being art that is especially true to both labels. This work is perhaps not where listeners should start if they are being introduced to Feldman's work because it lives between two worlds of his development. Those who already know and love this music will be more than happy with acquiring a recording of this work, though it exists as a playful anomaly among his output, almost like a parody of his own processes, which were about to be overhauled for the final years of his career. Odd, meandering moments that do not sound anything like his own style appear for moments, as though he were either struggling towards a perfect streamlining of his own style or inserting irregular elements to break up the same possibility. It ultimately does work well, even if die-hard Feldman lovers are made to feel mocked somewhat. The grand design is sound and the particulars are never boring. Rarely is there so much material in a Feldman work that begs the question, where is that from? Ultimately, alert listeners will realize that the almost-quotes are derived from the work itself, while re-presented in such a way that is totally familiar.

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