Symmetry as a cultural determinant in the music of Chou Wen-chung

This chapter explores the mathematical concept of mirror-image symmetry in specific repertoire from Western music literature and will investigate how the Chinese philosophical concept of symmetry in the I-Ching (Book of Changes) and other music techniques re-merge into a personal style in Chou’s music. This chapter will conclude that symmetry, which achieves the beauty of order in music, is also a cultural determinant in the presentation of musical ideas in a possible confluence of style and a “re-merger of Eastern and Western musical concepts and practices . . . to form the mainstream of a new musical tradition.”