As part of the Lоsting festival celebrating Morton Feldman’s centennial birthday on March 14, 2026, the Russian premiere of the composition «Patterns in a Chromatic Field» took place at the Rassvet Cultural Center. The duet was performed by Kymatic ensemble soloists Stefania Ermolaeva and Anton Izgagin.
«Patterns in a Chromatic Field» (1981)—a central work from the late period of American composer Morton Feldman. This is an extreme, hour-and-a-half piece for cello and piano. It is very difficult to call it a duet in the conventional sense—rather, it is a complex and fragmented dialogue between two soloists. The time allotted to each of the hundreds of patterns constantly expands or contracts, requiring maximum concentration from each performer not so much on their own musical material as on the intonation character of the partner’s parallel text.
Inspired by carpet patterns, Feldman sketches a living structure, each element of which possesses not only the logical navigation to the next but also its distorted reflection and shadow. In this way, the composer breathes life into the ornament, transforming it back into a living plant—more precisely, into two plants interwoven in a single space. Each rendition of «Patterns in a Chromatic Field» is unique, depending on the personal touch of each of the two soloists.
Performers of the Russian premiere:
piano — Stefanida Ermolaeva
Pianist, organist, and composer. Co-founder of the modern music ensemble Clotho, and soloist with the Kymatic ensemble. An alumna of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, she is currently studying at Saint Petersburg State University in the Department of Historical Performance on Keyboard Instruments. Since 2025, she has been collaborating with the Collegium Musicum Foundation as a soloist. She is the recipient of the «For Creative Experiments» special prize at the «Organist of the Year» award. She is an instructor at the S.A. Gerasimov State University of Cinematography. An active participant in interdisciplinary laboratories and residencies.
Cello — Anton IzgaginMulti-instrumentalist, composer. Co-founder of the Kymatic ensemble. Graduate of the P.I. Tchaikovsky Sverdlovsk Music College, the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, and the Moscow Conservatory. Participated in Russian and international performance masterclasses. He studied composition with B. Gander, K. Lang, D. Kurlandsky, A. Syumak, O. Bochikhina, A. Khubeev, V. Rannev, V. Voronov, and others at various times. A permanent member of the Novoselie viola-vocal ensemble. He popularizes contemporary music for viola da gamba, cello, bass guitar, and double bass. He recorded a solo album in the «Sound Review» series—Issue 3 3/5: Contemporary Music for Viola da Gamba (published in 2022 by Melody within the project of the Union of Composers of Russia).
Visual support for the concert:
HSE Art and Design School Students
Polina Borisova Bogdan Ivanov Yulia Krylova Arisha Kryukova Vlada Skobeleva
Coordinator — Evelina Gumilev
Light artists created accompanying music visuals using a special projection device—a codeiscope. Improvisation took place in real time using various liquid and translucent materials. The entire space was filled with variable and dynamic patterns—a «weaving of motifs”—that shifted with the music.
The Artistic Directors of the Losing Festival are Sergei Zykov and Stefania Ermolaeva.
The project was realized with the support of the HSE Art and Design School and the media portal Mediiia.