Death of Milton Babbitt

Posted on February 1, 2011 by davisbrooksviolin

Rarely has a composer been so polarizing with thought and music. From charlatan to genius, sides are passionate. One thing to be certain, very little of his music is listened to and for obvious reasons, not played. Some of this spring will be spent with him in order to make up my own mind.

About davisbrooksviolin

My name is Davis Brooks and I am a violinist living in Indianapolis IN. I am Prof. of Violin Emeritus at Butler University, associate concertmaster of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, a freelancer and record in the regional commercial studios. I have a particular interest in new music and this semester I am happily working with composition students at the University of Alabama. Roll Tide.
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2 Responses to Death of Milton Babbitt

  1. Matt Bugsby says:
    February 4, 2011 at 11:52 pm

    Milton contributed some terrific literature on the 12-tone method. His work in electronic music challenged our ideas about how the medium might best be approached. But history, day by day, is unfavorably judging his contributons as a composer. No one really cares to listen.

    Reply
    • Jan Herlinger says:
      February 16, 2011 at 2:26 pm

      Responding to Matt Bugsby:
      Music is not only for those who care to listen, but also for those who care to play and sing it. Speaking as a former flutist, I found Babbitt’s Composition for Four Instruments exhilarating to play (when I performed it with other Chicago musicians years ago), and hope that some performers still share the exhilaration.

      Reply

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