Symmetry in John Adams's Music (Dragged) 3

52 TEMPO
returns to its original state.19 It is interesting that Adams be

indrome in the fourth movement with Ab Lydian/Gfl Phryg
than traversing through all the keys in order to reac
Pellegrino believes that if closure is to be experienced, it
anticipated.20 A complete trajectory through the circle of
gests an end point. But the complete duplication of notes
between the opening mode of the first movement, A Ly
the first minor-type mode of the fourth movement, Gft
sets the work on a path towards closure. In what is the fir
of mode duplication, the opening notes transform from thei
sensual affective quality to a more unstable and heroic on
Adams's experimentation with symmetry in China Gates h
influence on Phrygian Gates. Figure 4 demonstrates how t
structure of the fourth movement (bars 809-1092) can be
using a hyperboloid.21 The proportional relationship betw
sections decreases in the upper cone by a divisor of two, an
the process in the lower cone, which is suggestive of, yet
from, the 4:3:2:1 ratio of China Gates. Using crotchet dur
total span of the upper and lower cones equals 900, a whol
that shares the same multiple of 300 as China Gates. P
musical operations between major- and minor-type mode
step-class retrograde inversions, are not apparent in Phryg
Furthermore, contiguous modes do not exhibit inversional
Instead, symmetry in Phrygian Gates is experienced at a m
level of overall form through reflectional symmetry about a
axis point in the central core. Adams's willingness to forgo s
smaller-level symmetries we encountered in China Gates in f
single overriding symmetry reflects the collective struggle of e
imalist composers between creating meticulously symmetrica
positional designs and merging the composer s voice and in
The core section also exhibits reflective symmetry. In
I reveal the structure of the core by examining elements
tion, modes and a central axis. As a matter of preference, th
of each section are counted using quavers to maintain whol
Considered in its entirety, the duration of the core constitu
ly a fifth of the upper and lower cones. The individual se
19 Catherine Ann Pellegrino, 'Aspects of Closure in the Music of John Adams', Pe

New Music, 40, no.l (2002), pp. 147-175, here 150-51. The late K. Robert Schw
cusses the third movement and draws his analysis from an interview with
'Process vs. Intuition in the Recent Works of Steve Reich and John Adams
Music 8, no. 3 (1990), p. 257.
Pellegrino, 'Aspects of Closure in the Music of John Adams , p. 150.
This hyperboloid resembles McConnell's depiction of China Gates. Pellegrin
nises a palindrome in the fourth movement without introducing an
representations.
This shift from process-driven works to a more intuitive conception of mus
by K. Robert Schwarz. See Schwarz, 'Process vs. Intuition in the Recent Wo
Reich and John Adams', American Music, 8, no. 3 (1990), pp. 245-73. In
with Schwarz, Adams said 'I've stopped worrying about whether intuiting a
right or not; as far as I can tell, most nineteenth-century composers wrote
levels' ('Process vs. Intuition', p. 247). There are elements in Adams's work
interpreted as efforts to break free from the early minimalist aesthetic th
detachment of the composer's voice, generated self-mechanised processes an
led to a more personal, intuitive style. According to Schwarz: 'Not only
exploit this modal conflict to create contrasts in melodic patterns, textural den
mic figuration, and dynamics, but he does so with a directionalised motion
toward climaxes - a motion far removed from the stasis of minimalism. Suc
approach works to loosen the bonds of musical process and heighten the role
(p. 258). The sheer size of Phrygian Gates also poses a challenge to maintain
symmetrical structures; a primary concern of the early minimalist style was cr
ual, perceptible processes.
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52 TEMPO

returns to its original state.19 It is interesting that Adams be

19 Catherine Ann Pellegrino, 'Aspects of Closure in the Music of John Adams', Pe

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