New Images of Musical Sound
Robert Cogan, 1987 (Harvard University Press)- "New Images of Musical Sound brings us closer than ever before to naming the unnameable in music - the most elaborate and sophisticated theory of tone color yet advanced. This startling and profound breakthrough has been made possible by recent developments in spectral photography. It has taken keen insight andlong, disciplined study for Cogan to arrive at the inspired, informative readings of the photographic maps he offers, and the implications are profound. I shall spend a long time with this book; it inspires listening in different ways and makes one more acutely aware of the structural force of sound itself. As a work of music theory it should be of interest to anyone serious about probing more deeply into the phenomenon of music."
- Lance Brunner, Notes (of the MLA)
- "Robert Cogan has been awarded the Society of Music Theory's Outstanding Publication Award for 1987 for his book New Images of Musical Sound, published in 1984 by Harvard University Press. Cogan's book was cited for its illuminating visual presentations of musical sound, insightful interpretations, and a provocative new theory of sound features."
- Press release of the Society for Music Theory