Serial Minimalist or Minimal Serialist? the Music of John McGuire (2012)

Of all the musical innovations by American composers, few have enjoyed a success comparable to which began to make a recognizable appearance on the landscape in the 1960s. Minimalist works have resonated for decades in the American musical landscape, spawned an offshoot that has become known as postminimalism, and influenced composers of art and popular music around the globe. Often portrayed as a reaction against the perceived hegemony of American academic serialism (which was itself- as the story goes- rooted in a peculiar melange of European serialism and early twentieth-century American experimentalism), minimalism has left an indelible mark on world musical culture of the last fifty years.In contrast to the often straightforwardly plain-worded creeds of early minimalist composers, critical reaction to their music is anything but simple. Initially encountering stiff resistance from established academic authorities but simultaneously enjoying surprising success among audiences, music first aligned itself to anti-establishment forces. Over time, the landscape has changed and minimalism has more recently generated belated but genuine interest among several serious scholars and critics. If reactions to this music sometimes seem scattered, disorganized or confused, it is perhaps an accurate reflection of the complex relationship it has had with the public, the media, and the academy.One area in particular that has proven problematic for critics and musicians has been negotiating the boundary between minimalist and music. This complicated relationship has generated starkly different views. While some have characterized serialism and minimalism as antitheses, others have noted parallels- if not in aesthetics, then at least in certain methods and techniques. In general, the fault lines occur mostly between American and European critics, which is not surprising since European and composers often took a different approach than their American counterparts. Correspondingly, American writers tend to emphasize the differences between and music, while European writers often see similarities.My goal in this essay is not to judge the validity of one musical aesthetic over another, nor to take anything away from the notably successful artistic projects of minimalist, postminimalist or any other newly accessible composers. Rather, I hope to draw attention to the permeability of the categories minimal and serial by exploring the work of a New York-based American composer, John McGuire (b. 1942). McGuire's music, unequivocally branded postminimal by one of the most ardent critics in the literature,1 is little known outside a small circle of enthusiasts, a condition not so unusual for a serious composer today. Yet his international career is emblematic of the opportunities musicians have to absorb ideas from different cultures and therefore relevant to the experiences many American composers negotiate today. McGuire's approach crosses between the minimalist and worlds in many unusual and unexpected ways, as we shall see. By analyzing two of his works in some depth, I will locate more concretely some areas where minimal and serial music(s) might intersect, and suggest that there is perhaps a more porous boundary between American and European art music than is generally portrayed.1.Most scholars agree that La Monte Young played a pivotal role in the formation of the American minimalist style.2 While Michael Nyman first aligned the composer's interest in music as performance art with the Fluxus movement,3 Young's radical handling of temporality- as amply demonstrated in his much-cited Trio (1958)- initially placed him in a category all by himself. While Riley's In C (1964) served as another exemplary minimalist work, Young was the movement's father figure to a certain extent.4 The term minimalism, of course, derives from an earlier trend in the visual arts that was appropriated by writers on music, often to the dismay of the composers themselves. …