Milton Babbitt writing Pop Music???
In looking for articles written about the more controversial from last week’s discussions, Milton Babbitt, I stumbled across an October 17, 1982 article in the New York Times written by Joan Peyser entitled, “Milton Babbitt — Juggler of Strict Serialism and Pop: Milton Babbitt’s Serialism”. Needless to say, given our conversation about Milton Babbitt; his rather elitist writing style; and whether a composer can be seen as a specialist, this article’s title certainly jumped out at me, as many Western Tonal Art Music musicians often stereotype pop music as the ‘least intellectual’. I am not saying I agree with this analysis, quite the contrary actually, but discussing this stereotype of pop music is the first step to recognizing its influence on the 20th-century music’s development. Peyser validates my preconceptions about Babbitt and his values in composition, “That Mr. Babbitt would even have considered show business will come as a shock to those who know him only through his forbidding public persona.” (Second Column from Left, 4th Paragraph).
This New York Times article was written nearly 30 years after the article we discussed last week, entitled “The Composer as Specialist” which was published in High Fidelity 8, no. 2 (February 1958): 38–40, 126–127. This article was also retitled by the editors, “Who Cares if You Listen?” When considering this editorial retitling of Babbitt’s essay, it is easy to misinterpret the title as determining music is written for the composer’s sake, and not for audiences. Where there is likely some truth to this, I see the fundamental purpose of the article as stating that some music is written for the masses, whereas Babbitt’s is written for a select few; that being, the few who can understand it.
Milton Babbitt, Fifth String Quartet, performed by The Composer’s Quartet
Peyser writes, “Yet, in recent years, with the blurring of the traditional distinctions between high art and popular culture, Mr. Babbitt continues to avoid the slightest hint of a mix. . . Today [Babbitt’s music] is virtually inaccessible to any but those with experience in his particular musical language.” (Far Left Column, second paragraph). In my own experience with serialist composers, I will refer back to my blog post from January 24, 2021, entitled “You’ll Get Used to [20th-Century Music]”. Here, I tell my own story of my first exposures to 20th-century music outside of an academic sense. I was told by a conductor, theorist, and student of famed 20th-century composer Gunther Schuller, that the more you expose yourself to this different style of composing, the more you will pick up on the specific details, patterns, and structures that glue these works together. It is not a recognition that comes as a gift however — just like understanding tonal music, development of the listening skill is necessary. In this sense, I interpret Babbitt’s claim of not everyone, better yet only a select few, being able to ‘understand’ his music as valid. It is not music for the masses, and he appears to accept that.
Separated from the rest of the article’s text, Peyser writes, “His most famous disciple is Stephen Sondheim.” Her reasoning for placing this where she did on the page is undoubtedly because discussion about Babbitt’s popular music upbringing is not started until the fifth column from the left: over 2/3 way through the article. I find it very intriguing however, that Peyser, instead of beginning the article with information pertaining to Mr. Babbitt’s background in composition, which was heavily influenced by traveling Broadway performances that visited his hometown, she emphasizes Babbitt’s serialist techniques and how his music is so difficult to grasp. Stephen Sondheim, as well as Leonard Bernstein were both influenced by Babbitt’s musical philosophies and teachings, though Peyser requotes Babbitt, “Concerning a life in pop music: ‘The thing is, one gets so quickly bored’.” (Far Right Column, Third Paragraph). Though it is hardly justification for pop music being ‘lesser intellectual’ than art music, I see Babbitt’s well-roundedness showing that a composer is only limited by what they want to compose, rather than bound to their specific medium.
