| The intent of this paper is to contribute to the body of scholarship on the compositional process of John Adams, specifically in his orchestral piece Chamber Symphony (1992). A short introductory section on the life, career, and compositional style gives context to the composition analyzed. Methods both traditional and outside of the realm of standard analysis are used to understand the compositional process Adams uses in the piece. A partial intent is to classify the genre of this work.;The Chamber Symphony falls within a transitional period of composition in Adams's career. Although the piece can be considered an anomaly in its extreme use of chromaticism and dissonance, the use of counterpoint and fast harmonic shifts are characteristics in the Chamber Symphony that continue to be used into the 1990s, signifying his next phase of composition.;Very few aspects of Adams's works can be directly connected as a precursor to the Chamber Symphony. Attention is often paid to the outside sources influencing the compositional language. Adams's Chamber Symphony was modeled in part from Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony (1906) with other musical references from Stravinsky, Nancarrow, Milhaud, Hindemith, Birtwistle, and Hollywood composers, including Carl Stalling and Raymond Scott. |
