Rochberg's references to earlier compositions are discussed in the course of this general overview of his music. Numerous examples of quotation and self-quotation in his works are mentioned. His musical collages employ materials from a variety of works by others and by himself. In Rochberg's Contra Mortem et Tempus (1965), for instance, the allusions include those to Boulez, Berio, Varèse, Berg, Ives, and himself. With the composition of Music for the Magic Theater (1965), Rochberg has gained full independence from the past by so fully absorbing the music of the tradition that the music is no longer a burden on the present but instead points the way to the future.

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: David C. Birchler