William Earl Caplin

Who is William Earl Caplin?

William E. Caplin is an American music theorist who lives and works in Montreal, Canada, where he is a James McGill Professor at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. Caplin served as president of the Society for Music Theory from 2005 to 2007 and was its vice-president from 2001 to 2003.

Although much of Caplin's earlier work concentrated on the history of music theory, he is best known for his so-called "theory of formal functions." His book Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven has been widely influential and has been a major factor in the revival of interest in musical form in North-American music theory.