Search - Milton Babbitt, Jerry Kuderna, Robert Miller :: Milton Babbitt: Philomel

Fun music

01/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Babbitt's music is difficult to understand. Out of all the composers influenced by Schoenberg, Babbitt creates the most complex textures, which often stand resolutely as absolute music (in contrast to others, like Boulez or Stockhausen, who often have extra - musical elements such as a text or theoretical concept to help unify their work). Once I learned how to understand 12 - tone music, I was surpised to find how much Babbitt sounds like Bach. Often voices imitate one another and the thought process is largely linear. I find these pieces to be a lot of fun. Especially in Post - Partitions you can hear a lot of immediate imitation in 'call and repsonse' format (it reminds me of Bach's 1st invention or the organ fugue in d minor at times) However, it should be said that if you're not willing to work at understanding music and expect all the secrets of a composition to be handed to you on a platter, Babbitt's music is not something you'll enjoy. Too many people end up hating music like this based on one exposure in a collage music appreciation course. People are often put off by western compositions before the 14th century for their inability to hear in the modal system. I will say that, just like it is well worth it to learn to hear 'modally' to enjoy G. Machaut or Leonin, it is worth it to learn to hear 'atonally' for Babbitt, Boulez and Stockhausen. People who are too lazy to spend time with this music shouldn't complain so heartily when they don't understand it!"

Don't overdo the math

Jon Currier | Jackson, Mississipi | 10/26/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Babbitt is interested in how details relate to deeper structure. To achieve this there must be deeper structure, and in Babbitt's music there is the most impressive, Brahmsian depth of structure. Some of the ways of achieving this can be described in mathematical terms, but to make it work so beautifully is wholly a musical issue. One can describe bad music in mathematical terms to, likewise simple music. Babbitt improvises with his material until everthing sounds in a compelling way. Babbitt's music, as well as the music of Bach, Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms requires 3-d hearing. It's a bit like the computer generated images that require the proper focusing of the eye to see the 3-dimensioanl figures. When one gets Babbitt's music properly in focus, there is nothing quite so satisfying"

Amazing but Underperformed

Daniel Culveyhouse | San Francisco, CA | 10/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Of the numerous works and studies on this CD, "Philomel" stands out the most. Remember that this was one of the earliest symphonic works involving synthesized sound. Babbitt labored for years on a rickety punch-card era machine without preset channels or sampled sound, beginning from scratch sometime around 1960. It took that long to get the sound that he was looking for.



Regarding the other works on this CD: Sadly, even with the playability of Phon. for Soprano & Piano, Post-Partitions, and even Reflections, these are almost never selected for performance. Post-Partitions is attractive for Babbitt's use of "dyads," if we can even apply that term to music."