Roger Smalley: a Case Study of Late Twentieth-Century Composition

Writing the history of musical composition in the late twentieth century might be seen as problematic. A productive way forward is to pursue case studies involving single composers whose music reflects several aspects of recent activity. The music of the composer Roger Smalley is ideal material for such a study, because of his involvement with an unusually large number of the myriad concerns and practices of post-1950s composition. Employing an interview with the composer as a kind of...
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Writing the history of musical composition in the late twentieth century might be seen as problematic. A productive way forward is to pursue case studies involving single composers whose music reflects several aspects of recent activity. The music of the composer Roger Smalley is ideal material for such a study, because of his involvement with an unusually large number of the myriad concerns and practices of post-1950s composition. Employing an interview with the composer as a kind of cantus firmus, the book incorporates critical commentary on the composer's major works in a chronological narrative that engages with broad issues of central relevance to Smalley's generation.