Chou Wen-chung and his music: A musical and biographical profile of cultural synthesis
type: CreativeWork
description: The main point of Richard Waterman's theory of syncretism is that, when musical elements in two cultures are compatible, a synthesis would most likely occur. According to this, the seemingly incompatible nature of Chinese and Western musical elements could have prevented a fusion. Since Chou Wen-Chung's musical fusion is successful and is representative of the prevalent practice among contemporary composers, this study has especially been motivated to shed new light on this issue by seeking an explanation with an ethnomusicological perspective for Chou's success and its implications in contemporary music both in the East and the West.
abstract: The main point of Richard Waterman's theory of syncretism is that, when musical elements in two cultures are compatible, a synthesis would most likely occur. According to this, the seemingly incompatible nature of Chinese and Western musical elements could have prevented a fusion. Since Chou Wen-Chung's musical fusion is successful and is representative of the prevalent practice among contemporary composers, this study has especially been motivated to shed new light on this issue by seeking an explanation with an ethnomusicological perspective for Chou's success and its implications in contemporary music both in the East and the West.
author: Chang, Peter M.
language: eng
keywords: Biography, Music
date published: 2011-05-07T12:47:06Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:25:16Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/20711