Morton Feldman’s New Directions in Music 2 is one of the true cornerstones of modern classical music. Originally released in 1959, the album captures Feldman at the very beginning of his radical journey into sound, space and silence, developing the sparse, floating language that would go on to influence generations of experimental composers and ambient musicians alike. With cover artwork by abstract painter Philip Guston and clear parallels to the chance-based ideas of John Cage, the record perfectly reflects the atmosphere of the New York avant-garde at the turn of the decade.

Far from academic or difficult, Feldman’s music feels strangely intimate and suspended in time, favoring tonal color and subtle shifts over traditional structure. Pieces like “Projections” and “Intersections” reveal a composer more interested in texture, resonance and atmosphere than melody or rhythm in the conventional sense. Long unavailable, this first-ever reissue finally restores a landmark recording that remains as mysterious and forward-thinking today as it was over sixty years ago.