Milton Babbitt (1916-2011)
Revered
for his pioneering work in serial organization and in musical
electronics, Milton Babbitt is a major American composer,
theorist, and teacher. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Jackson, MS,
he began his study of the violin at age 4. He later learned to play
clarinet and saxophone, exhibiting an early interest in jazz and
popular song. Despite his gift for music, he attended the University of
Pennsylvania to pursue a career in mathematics. He then decided to
attend New York University to study music.
Babbitt was
attracted to the epochal discoveries of Schoenberg, at a time when
12-tone and serial techniques were still relatively new. In
1935
he began studies with Roger Sessions, at first privately, and
then later at Princeton University. During World War II
Babbitt
worked as a mathematical researcher and taught mathematics at
Princeton. At this time he developed the complex ramifications of
Schoenberg's twelve-tone compositional method into what came to be
known as total serialism. In a nutshell, what this meant was that he
expanded Schoenberg's twelve-tone system (wherein compositional
structure is determined by manipulation of a constant sequence of the
12 pitches of the chromatic scale) to other aspects of music
- rhythm, dynamics, timbre, etc. Babbitt's important
early
works in his rigorously organized serial style include the first two
string quartets (1948, 1954), the jazz-influenced All Set (1957) and Partitions
(1957). Babbitt is also responsible for developing and classifying such
important serialist concepts as combinatoriality, partitioning, arrays,
pitch class, pitch set, and the time-point system. In extending the
challenging language of Schoenberg, Babbitt's "new complexity"
continually met with incomprehension from audiences and musicians
alike. This led Babbitt to seek means of composing and performing
outside of traditional settings and formats. He found what he was
looking for in the emerging analog technology of the RCA Mark II
synthesizer and the Columbia-Princeton recording studio, which he
co-founded with Otto Luening and Vladimir Ussachevsky in 1959. One year
later, Babbitt completed his first entirely synthesized work, Vision and Prayer. Philomel
(1964) shows his use of the human voice as an essential part of his
conception; it was one of the earliest pieces to combine tape playback
with live performance. Later works likes Post-Partitions
(1966) and
Relata II (1968),
show Babbitt's increasingly dense modes of musical significance,
achieved through close connections between pitch and rhythmic
organization, and through the use of every possible musical parameter
in delineating structure. String Quartet
No. 3
(1970) includes metronomic stability, changes of velocity engineered by
changes in metrical density, sectional form, and the use of many other
musical parameters -- including the distinction between arco and
pizzicato string playing -- to integrate the
polyphony. Babbitt
has received a lifetime Pulitzer Prize in composition for his
contributions to twelve-tone and electronic music.- All Music Guide
COMPOSITIONS Babbitt Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Babbitt on Babbitt
Generatrix, orchestra (1935, unfinished)
String Trio (1939-41)
Composition for String Orchestra (1940, unfinished)
Symphony, orchestra (1941, unfinished)
Music for the Mass I, chorus (1941)
Music for the Mass II, chorus (1942)
Three Theatrical Songs, voice and piano (1946)
Three Compositions for Piano (1947)
Composition for Four Instruments (1948)
String Quartet No. 1 (1948, withdrawn)
Composition for Twelve Instruments (1948/1954)
Into the Good Ground, film score (1949, withdrawn)
Composition for Viola and Piano (1950)
The Widow’s Lament in Springtime, soprano and piano (1951)
Du, soprano and piano (1951)
Woodwind Quartet (1953)
String Quartet No. 2 (1954)
Vision and Prayer, soprano and piano (1954)
Two Sonnets, baritone, clarinet, viola and cello (1955)
Duet, piano (1956)
Semi-Simple Variations, piano (1956)
All Set, alto sax, tenor sax, trumpet, trombone, double bass, piano, vibraphone and percussion (1957)
Partitions, piano (1957)
Sounds and Words, soprano and piano (1960)
Composition for Tenor and Six Instruments (1960)
Composition for Synthesizer (1961)
Vision and Prayer, soprano and synthesized tape (1961)
Philomel, soprano, recorded soprano and synthesized tape (1964)
Ensembles for Synthesizer (1964)
Relata I, orchestra (1965)
Post-Partitions, piano (1966)
Sextets, violin and piano (1966)
Correspondences, string orchestra and synthesized tape (1967)
Relata II, orchestra (1968)
Four Canons, female chorus (1968-69)
Phonemena, soprano and piano (1969)
String Quartet No. 3 (1970)
String Quartet No. 4 (1970)
Occasional Variations, synthesized tape (1971)
Tableaux, piano (1972)
Arie Da Capo, 5 instrumentalists (1974)
Reflections, piano and synthesized tape (1975)
Phonemena, soprano and synthesized tape (1975)
Concerti, violin, small orchestra and synthesized tape (1976)
A Solo Requiem, soprano and 2 pianos (1977)
Minute Waltz (or 3/4 - 1/8), piano (1977)
Playing for Time, piano (1977)
My Ends Are My Beginnings, clarinet (1978)
My Complements to Roger, piano (1978)
More Phonemena, 12-part chorus (1978)
An Elizabethan Sextette, 6-part female chorus (1979)
Images, saxophonist and synthesized tape (1979)
Paraphrases, ten instrumentalists (1979)
Dual, cello and piano (1980)
Ars Combinatoria, small orchestra (1981)
Don, piano 4-hands (1981)
The Head of the Bed, soprano and 4 instruments (1982)
String Quartet No. 5 (1982)
Melismata, violin (1982)
About Time, piano (1982)
Canonical Form, piano (1983)
Groupwise, flute and 4 instruments (1983)
Four Play, 4 players (1984)
It Takes Twelve to Tango, piano (1984)
Sheer Pluck, guitar (1984)
Concerto, piano and orchestra (1985)
Lagniappe, piano (1985)
Transfigured Notes, string orchestra (1986)
The Joy of More Sextets, piano and violin (1986)
Three Cultivated Choruses, chorus (1987)
Fanfare, double brass sextet (1987)
Overtime, piano (1987)
Souper, speaker and ensemble (1987)
Homily, snare drum (1987)
Whirled Series, saxophone and piano (1987)
In His Own Words, speaker and piano (1988)
The Virginal Book, contralto and piano (1988)
Beaten Paths, marimba (1988)
Glosses, boys' choir (1988)
The Crowded Air, 11 instruments (1988)
Consortini, 5 players (1989)
Play It Again, Sam, viola (1989)
Emblems (Ars Emblematica), piano (1989)
Soli e Duettini, 2 guitars (1989)
Soli e Duettini, flute and guitar (1989)
Soli e Duettini, violin and viola (1990)
Envoi, piano 4-hands (1990)
Preludes, Interludes, and Postlude, piano (1991)
Four Cavalier Settings, tenor and guitar (1991)
Mehr “Du”, soprano, viola and piano (1991)
None But The Lonely Flute, flute (1991)
Septet, But Equal, [ensemble] (1992)
Counterparts, brass quintet (1992)
Around the Horn, horn (1993)
Quatrains, soprano and 2 clarinets (1993)
Fanfare For All, brass quintet (1993)
String Quartet No. 6 (1993)
Triad, viola, clarinet and piano (1994)
No Longer Very Clear, soprano and 4 instruments (1994)
Tutte Le Corde, piano (1994)
Arrivals and Departures, 2 violins (1994)
Accompanied Recitative, soprano sax and piano (1994)
Manifold Music, organ (1995)
Bicenguinguagenary Fanfare, brass quintet (1995)
Quartet, piano and string trio (1995)
Quintet, clarinet and string quartet (1996)
When Shall We Three Meet Again?, flute, clarinet and vibraphone (1996)
Piano Concerto No. 2 (1998)
The Old Order Changeth, piano (1998)
Composition For One Instrument, celesta (1999)
Allegro Penseroso, piano (1999)
Concerto Piccolino, vibraphone (1999)
Little Goes a Long Way, violin and piano (2000)
Pantuns, soprano and piano (2000)
From the Psalter, soprano and string orchestra (2002)
Now evening after evening, soprano and piano (2002)
Swan Song No. 1, flute, oboe, violin, cello and 2 guitars (2003)
A Waltzer in the House, soprano and vibraphone (2003
Concerti for Orchestra, for James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, orchestra (2004)
Autobiography of the Eye, soprano and cello (2004)
More Melismata, cello (2005-6)
An Encore, violin and piano (2006)
WORKS BY GENRE Babbitt Links ~ ~ ~ Babbitt on Babbitt ~ top of page ~
Orchestra
Generatrix, orchestra (1935, unfinished)
Composition for String Orchestra (1940, unfinished)
Symphony, orchestra (1941, unfinished)
Relata I, orchestra (1965)
Correspondences, string orchestra and synthesized tape (1967)
Relata II, orchestra (1968)
Ars Combinatoria, small orchestra (1981)
Transfigured Notes, string orchestra (1986)
Concerti for Orchestra, for James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, orchestra (2004)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Concerti, violin, small orchestra and synthesized tape (1976)
Concerto, piano and orchestra (1985)
Piano Concerto No. 2 (1998)
Choral
Music for the Mass I, chorus (1941)
Music for the Mass II, chorus (1942)
Four Canons, female chorus (1968-69)
More Phonemena, 12-part chorus (1978)
An Elizabethan Sextette, 6-part female chorus (1979)
Three Cultivated Choruses, chorus (1987)
Glosses, boys' choir (1988)
Chamber
String Trio (1939-41)
Composition for Four Instruments (1948)
String Quartet No. 1 (1948, withdrawn)
Composition for Twelve Instruments (1948/1954)
Composition for Viola and Piano (1950)
Woodwind Quartet (1953)
String Quartet No. 2 (1954)
All Set, alto sax, tenor sax, trumpet, trombone, double bass, piano, vibraphone and percussion (1957)
Sextets, violin and piano (1966)
String Quartet No. 3 (1970)
String Quartet No. 4 (1970)
Arie Da Capo, 5 instrumentalists (1974)
Paraphrases, ten instrumentalists (1979)
Dual, cello and piano (1980)
String Quartet No. 5 (1982)
Groupwise, flute and 4 instruments (1983)
Four Play, 4 players (1984)
The Joy of More Sextets, piano and violin (1986)
Fanfare, double brass sextet (1987)
Souper, speaker and ensemble (1987)
Whirled Series, saxophone and piano (1987)
The Crowded Air, 11 instruments (1988)
Consortini, 5 players (1989)
Soli e Duettini, 2 guitars (1989)
Soli e Duettini, flute and guitar (1989)
Soli e Duettini, violin and viola (1990)
Septet, But Equal, [ensemble] (1992)
Counterparts, brass quintet (1992)
Fanfare For All, brass quintet (1993)
String Quartet No. 6 (1993)
Triad, viola, clarinet and piano (1994)
Arrivals and Departures, 2 violins (1994)
Bicenguinguagenary Fanfare, brass quintet (1995)
Quartet, piano and string trio (1995)
Quintet, clarinet and string quartet (1996)
When Shall We Three Meet Again?, flute, clarinet and vibraphone (1996)
Little Goes a Long Way, violin and piano (2000)
Swan Song No. 1, flute, oboe, violin, cello and 2 guitars (2003)
An Encore, violin and piano (2006)
Solo Instrument
My Ends Are My Beginnings, clarinet (1978)
Images, saxophonist and synthesized tape (1979)
Melismata, violin (1982)
Sheer Pluck, guitar (1984)
Homily, snare drum (1987)
Beaten Paths, marimba (1988)
Play It Again, Sam, viola (1989)
None But The Lonely Flute, flute (1991)
Around the Horn, horn (1993)
Concerto Piccolino, vibraphone (1999)
More Melismata, cello (2005-6)
Piano/Organ/Celesta
Three Compositions for Piano (1947)
Duet, piano (1956)
Semi-Simple Variations, piano (1956)
Partitions, piano (1957)
Post-Partitions, piano (1966)
Tableaux, piano (1972)
Reflections, piano and synthesized tape (1975)
Minute Waltz (or 3/4 - 1/8), piano (1977)
Playing for Time, piano (1977)
My Complements to Roger, piano (1978)
Don, piano 4-hands (1981)
About Time, piano (1982)
Canonical Form, piano (1983)
It Takes Twelve to Tango, piano (1984)
Lagniappe, piano (1985)
Overtime, piano (1987)
Emblems (Ars Emblematica), piano (1989)
Envoi, piano 4-hands (1990)
Preludes, Interludes, and Postlude, piano (1991)
Tutte Le Corde, piano (1994)
Manifold Music, organ (1995)
The Old Order Changeth, piano (1998)
Composition For One Instrument, celesta (1999)
Allegro Penseroso, piano (1999)
Vocal
Three Theatrical Songs, voice and piano (1946)
The Widow’s Lament in Springtime, soprano and piano (1951)
Du, soprano and piano (1951)
Vision and Prayer, soprano and piano (1954)
Two Sonnets, baritone, clarinet, viola and cello (1955)
Sounds and Words, soprano and piano (1960)
Composition for Tenor and Six Instruments (1960)
Vision and Prayer, soprano and synthesized tape (1961)
Philomel, soprano, recorded soprano and synthesized tape (1964)
Phonemena, soprano and piano (1969)
Phonemena, soprano and synthesized tape (1975)
A Solo Requiem, soprano and 2 pianos (1977)
The Head of the Bed, soprano and 4 instruments (1982)
Souper, speaker and ensemble (1987)
In His Own Words, speaker and piano (1988)
The Virginal Book, contralto and piano (1988)
Four Cavalier Settings, tenor and guitar (1991)
Mehr “Du”, soprano, viola and piano (1991)
Quatrains, soprano and 2 clarinets (1993)
No Longer Very Clear, soprano and 4 instruments (1994)
Accompanied Recitative, soprano sax and piano (1994)
Pantuns, soprano and piano (2000)
From the Psalter, soprano and string orchestra (2002)
Now evening after evening, soprano and piano (2002)
A Waltzer in the House, soprano and vibraphone (2003
Autobiography of the Eye, soprano and cello (2004)
Incidental/Film
Into the Good Ground, film score (1949, withdrawn)
Electronic
Composition for Synthesizer (1961)
Vision and Prayer, soprano and synthesized tape (1961)
Philomel, soprano, recorded soprano and synthesized tape (1964)
Ensembles for Synthesizer (1964)
Correspondences, string orchestra and synthesized tape (1967)
Occasional Variations, synthesized tape (1971)
Reflections, piano and synthesized tape (1975)
Phonemena, soprano and synthesized tape (1975)
Concerti, violin, small orchestra and synthesized tape (1976)
Images, saxophonist and synthesized tape (1979)
BABBITT LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Babbitt on Babbitt ~ top of page ~
Babbitt & Positivism (William Anderson, Cygnus Ensemble)
Being in Time: An Experiment in Listening to Milton Babbitt (Paul Griffiths, musique.ehess.fr)
The Exuberant, Controversial and Thrilling Milton Babbitt (Peter Goodman, The Julliard Journal Online)
The Fine Madness of Milton Babbitt (Greg Sandow)
History of Electroacoustic Music - Milton Babbitt (inart, Penn State University)
An Interview with Milton Babbitt (Gabrielle Zuckerman, American Public Media)
A Life of Learning (Milton Babbitt, Charles Homer Haskins Lecture, 1991)
Milton Babbitt Discography (New World Records)
Milton Babbitt: A Discussion in 12 Parts (NewMusicBox)
Milton Babbitt Talks about "Philomel" (Jason Gross, Perfect Sound Forever/furious.com)
Milton Babbitt's Clarinet Quintet (Alex Ross, The New York Times)
Music: The Next 150 Years? (Milton Babbitt, ARTSaha!)
On the Purpose of Composition: A Reaction to Babbitt's article, "Who Cares if You Listen?" (Christopher Palestrant)
The Serialism of Milton Babbitt (Paul Riker)
Who Cares if You Listen? (Milton Babbitt, High Fidelity, Feb. 1958)
Obituaries
Avant-Garde Composer, Teacher Milton Babbitt Dies At 94 (Mark Mobley and Janaya Williams, NPR)
Milton Babbitt, a Composer Who Gloried in Complexity, Dies at 94 (Allan Kozinn, The New York Times)
Milton Babbitt Obituary (Robert P. Morgan, The Guardian)
Books
The Collected Essays of Milton Babbitt (Milton Babbitt, Stephen Peles, Princeton Univ Pr, books.google.com)
Milton Babbitt: Words About Music (Stephen Dembski, Milton Babbitt, et al, Univ of Wisconsin Pr, books.google.com)
Composer's website [none at the moment]
Babbitt @ Wikipedia
Babbitt @ ACLS (American Council of Learned Societies)
Babbitt @ Augustus Arnone--Journal/The Complete Babbitt Project
Babbitt @ American Classical Music Hall of Fame
Babbitt @ ANABlog
Babbitt @ Answers.com
Babbitt @ Art of the States also here
Babbitt @ Biography.com
Babbitt @ Biographybase
Babbitt @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Babbitt @ Classic Cat
Babbitt @ Classical CD Review
Babbitt @ Classical Archives
Babbitt @ Classical Composers Database
Babbitt @ Classical Net
Babbitt @ ClassicsToday
Babbitt @ Collage New Music
Babbitt @ Columbia Computer Music Center also here
Babbitt @ composition:today
Babbitt @ Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
Babbitt @ Edition Peters
Babbitt @ Facebook
Babbitt @ Infography
Babbitt @ InstantEncore
Babbitt @ Karadar Classical Music
Babbitt @ The Library of Congress
Babbitt @ Mississippi Writers & Musicians
Babbitt @ Monday Evening Concerts
Babbitt @ MSN Music
Babbitt @ Music Academy Online
Babbitt @ MusicWeb International
Babbitt @ Naxos
Babbitt @ New World Records
Babbitt @ The New York Times
Babbitt @ NNDB
Babbitt @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Babbitt @ G. Schirmer
Babbitt @ Shatagee Woods Elektronika Hermetikum
Publisher
Babbitt @ Boelke-Bomart Publications
Babbitt @ British and Continental Music Agencies
Babbitt @ Independent Music Publishers
Babbitt @ Marks Music Corp.
Babbitt @ Merion Music
Babbitt @ Mobart Music Publications
Babbitt @ Edition Peters
Babbitt @ Theodore Presser
Babbitt @ G. Schirmer
Babbitt @ Smith Publications: Sonic Art Editions
Streaming Audio
Babbitt @ Amerian Public Media/An Interview with Milton Babbitt (Gabrielle Zuckerman)
Babbitt @ Art of the States
Babbitt @ Augustus Arnone--Journal
Babbitt @ The Classical MIDI Connection
Babbitt @ Classical Archives
Babbitt @ emayzine.com
Babbitt @ Internet Archive/Speaking of Music: Milton Babbitt with Charles Amirkhanian
Babbitt @ last.fm
Babbitt @ NPRmusic
Babbitt @ Rhapsody
Recordings
Babbitt @ ArkivMusic
Babbitt @ ClassicsOnline
Babbitt @ Discogs
Video
Babbitt @ YouTube
Babbitt @ Google Video
Babbitt @ Vimeo
~ top of page ~
Babbitt on Babbitt: On Electronic Music (VIDEO)
~ top of page ~
Babbitt on Babbitt: A Discussion in 12 Parts/NewMusicBox (VIDEO)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
~ top of page ~
Babbitt on Babbitt: Speaking of Music: Milton Babbitt with Charles Amirkhanian
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
~ top of page ~
Babbitt on Babbitt: An Interview with Milton Babbitt (American Public Media)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
~ top of page ~
Babbitt on Babbitt: Milton Babbitt at 90 - A 'Difficult' Composer (NPR)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
~ top of page ~
Babbitt on Babbitt: On Being An American Composer, Part 1
Babbitt on Babbitt: On Being An American Composer, Part 2
Babbitt on Babbitt: On Being An American Composer, Part 3
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