ABSTRACT
The first half of Chapter 9 deals with modern approaches to the symphony in the hands of Messiaen and Lutoslawski, both of whom stretched the traditional concept of a symphony without abandoning some of its fundamental structural principles. This chapter explains how texture, rhythm, attack density, and changes in orchestration can substitute for the more traditional use of theme, development, and tonality in creating a modern symphony.
The second half of Chapter 9 brings the story of the symphony into the present day with a discussion of women who are currently writing symphonies (Zwillich and Zaimont) as well as some of the men who are still active as symphonists today. The underlying question in this chapter concerns the manner in which these contemporary symphonists retain some connection to the long history of this genre while adapting that tradition to a post-modern style of composition.
