Saturday, 9:00–10:30
am
John
Clough was a pioneer in the field of scale theory. The direction of his work was
suggested by certain remarks in articles by Milton Babbitt, but his theories are
highly original, and reinvigorated the realm of speculative music theory. His
papers were notable for their insight and clarity, and his numerous co-authored
papers celebrate the values of the community of scholars. He and his co-authors
uncovered a number of unexpected combinatorial results that accrue to the diatonic
and other scale systems. His work on maximally even sets with co-author Jack Douthett
(Clough and Douthett 1991) won the SMT Outstanding Publication Award in 1993 and
is recognized as a landmark in the field of scale theory.
The panel, which includes a number of Clough's co-authors, will discuss the highlights
of Clough's work. The panel will also discuss the significance of Clough's influence
in other aspects of recent music theory, most notably in neo-Riemannian studies.
The session is meant to serve as a primer on the ideas of one of the most original
thinkers in recent music theory.