Since the East and the West split (about the 5th c. B.C.) the western conception of the world has been
“mechanistic
”, based on the dualism of spirit and matter, whereas the
eastern one has been
“organic
” (the cosmos is one inseparable reality). This fundamental antithesis has been gradually bridged through the ages and most
effectively by Einstein, who established a close relationship between matter and energy. Interrelated and analogous were the developments in the arts and music of the West. They permit the conclusion that in recent Western music
traditions there is at least a germ of genuine receptivity to the East.