About the Style of John Coolidge Adams’ Chamber Symphony.
Abstract
The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the stylistic features of the Chamber Symphony by contemporary American composer John Coolidge Adams, a topic that is currently dwelt upon insufficiently. The author explores the paths of formation of the chamber symphony genre and provides examples of its manifestation in the works of 20th century Russian composers and those from other countries. The similarities and differences between Adams’ Chamber Symphony and Arnold Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 1, opus 9: the specific features of instrumentation and the compositional structure are examined. The programmatic nature of the composer’s works received separate attention in the article: approaches intrinsic to the Romantic era are compared with the poetics of the titles of Adams’ composition. The author of the article pays special attention to the timbral and rhythmic features of the composition as well as its formal structure. Drawing on a wide range of sources, the specificity of the creation of the Chamber Symphony and Adams’ perspectives of the minimalist method of composition are disclosed. The influence of minimalism on Adams’ compositional style is established. On the basis of the analysis of the three movements of the cycle, the idea is substantiated that in the musical material of the Chamber Symphony, Adams managed to maintain the balance between traditional and non-traditional approaches to symphonic music.
Keywords: John Coolidge Adams, Arnold Schoenberg, Chamber Symphony, minimalism, postminimalism
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.56620/2782-3598.2024.2.039-054
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