Change articulated by pitch : a study of instrumental works by Franz Schubert and John Coolidge Adams

Abstract

The works of John Adams (1947--) depart from the Minimalist tradition despite the congruity. The musical vocabulary of Minimalism has been characterised by restorative features of tonality but without the sense of tonal function. One aspect identified by this lack of functional tonality has been the absence of modulation. A technique John Adams embraces in his compositions is modulation. Analyses of John Adams' music seek to discover the nature of this modulation and how it relates to the Minimalist tradition.