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Structural Multistabilities and Listening Experiences in Minimalist Music book cover

1st Edition

Structural Multistabilities and Listening Experiences in Minimalist Music

By Kristen Wallentinsen Copyright 2026
214 Pages 117 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

214 Pages 117 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Kristen Wallentinsen uses an interdisciplinary theory of multistability to investigate different effects minimalist music has on the listener. Drawing on theories of multistability from philosophy and psychology, the book builds an analytical framework and typology that demonstrates minimalist music’s reliance on multistable structure for its interpretive flexibility. Through a close analysis... Read more

Chapter 1: Intentionality and Flexibility in Minimalist Music Chapter 2: “Mysteries to Satisfy All”: A Cognitive and Phenomenological Frame Chapter 3: A Typology of Multistability in Minimalist Music Chapter 4: Realizing Multistability in Minimalist Music Chapter 5: Ambiguity and Multistable Experience in Reich’s The Desert Music Chapter 6: Jugglers, Dancers, and Louis Vuitton: Multistability’s Interactions in Minimalist Multimedia Compositions Conclusion: A New Element of Shared Minimalist Aesthetic

Biography

Kristen Wallentinsen is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. Her current research draws on phenomenology and music perception to explore ambiguities in the perception of patterns that emerge from the repetitive fabric of minimalist music. Her other research interests include music perception and cognition, music theory pedagogy, melodic contour, and the intersections of music theory and mathematics.

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