ABSTRACT
According to Cone, there is a great deal of music written today that is simply no longer susceptible to analysis. Cone himself puts his finger on the problem when, near the end of his article, he points out that: "The good composition will always reveal, on close study, the methods of analysis needed for its own comprehension." The relationship between musical work and musical system is considered, as it is here that one of the most dramatic changes in recent music has taken place. The meaning of musical tradition, however, is thereby fundamentally altered. Attempts to legitimize new music through couplings with traditional material need not be of a specifically musical nature. Like the musical system, it is defined for each individual composition, which acquires its own unique historical correspondences. Indeed, the distinction between musical system and programmatic metaphor is often blurred to the point of inseparability. The concept of tonality remains applicable in much recent music.
