Feldman's " ... Out of 'Last Pieces' ", of approximately 11 minutes duration, for orchestra was created in 1961 and is one of the composer's last works in graphic notation.

The score was written on coordination paper with each box equal to MM 80. The number of sounds to be played is indicated within each box by a number, and the pitch and time of entrance are left to the choice of the individual performers. The amplified guitar, harp, celesta, vibraphone, and xylophone parts may choose pitches from any register, and all the other instruments choose sounds in the highest registers of the instruments except for a few sections where low sounds are indicated.

This description of the notation and structure may make the piece appear as if it would sound purely "abstract", but the results are, in fact, rich in timbral combinations, the surprising chance combinations of pitch choices by the performers, and guided by the density-numbers into many types of rhythmic flow from quick dramatic on-rushing passages to mysterious events widely spaced among silences to sustained cluster drones (lines of continuity occupy several boxes).

As in many of Feldman's pieces, the dynamics are very quiet. This enables the rich harmonic makeups of the instruments to be heard, timbres which are lost when the instruments project and the fundamentals tend to be emphasized. This is especially necessary in a situation with as many instruments as a typical symphony orchestra. Of course, much skill is required to play high notes quietly in the winds and brass.



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