Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Milton Babbitt. Babbitt, born in Philadelphia, was a staple at Princeton University for many years. It’s telling that he joined both the music and mathematics faculties there. Later, he was also on the faculty of the Juilliard School.
Babbitt gained widespread notoriety for an essay he wrote, titled “Who Cares If You Listen?” It turns out the provocative stance was the result of an editorial decision, and that Babbitt’s original title had been “The Composer as Specialist” – not likely to generate nearly as much interest.
While he frequently composed in a serial style, his music is usually pretty lucid, without undo congestion and with a minimum of soul-crushing dissonances. In fact, his language could often attain a paradoxical simplicity amidst the appearance of complexity.
In the 1960s, Babbitt became interested in electronic music, apparently for its rhythmic precision, as opposed to any unusual timbral considerations. I find it endearing that he was also fond of jazz and musical theater. He himself was a saxophonist. In 1946, he penned a musical, “Fabulous Voyage,” a retelling of Homer’s “The Odyssey.”
Babbitt was the recipient of an honorary Pulitzer Prize in 1982. He died in Princeton in 2011, at the age of 94.
Listen here for “Penelope’s Night Song” from “Fabulous Voyage”:
“Composition for Twelve Instruments” (1948):
“Reflections” (1974) for piano and synthesized tape:
Milton Babbitt on electronic music: