Caption: Babbitt ca. 1960 Photo: William Gedney (courtesy Duke University Library)

Re-reading Babbitt celebrated the publication of The Collected Essays of Milton Babbitt by Princeton University Press. For the first time, all of Babbitt's writings are available in one volume, over 500 pages long and containing nearly fifty essays. Given the rarity of some of the journals and books in which these first were published, this collection is a tremendous resource for music scholars and composers. In addition, the essays have been strenuously edited (removing numerous typographical errors) and annotated by a team of four editors: Joseph Straus (City University of New York), Stephen Peles (University of Alabama), Andrew Mead (University of Michigan) and Stephen Dembski (University of Wisconsin-Madison). Given Babbitt's long association with Princeton as a member of the faculty (extending back to the 1930s), it is fitting that Princeton University Press has chosen to publish such a volume.

The author and editors were present and spoke at the Princeton event, as did several teaching colleagues and Babbitt scholars. The breadth of the topics explored in the various papers, remarks and anecdotes shared during the course of the day demonstrated the widespread influence of Babbitt as an author and composer. Time and again, it was emphasized that his works have helped to shape the direction of music research and the dialogue about music in post-War America.

In "The Age of Milton", a paper that opened the morning session (devoted to "Scholars"), Martin Brody (Wellesley College) examined the linguistic environment of Babbitt's prose, how his use of elaborate, multi-clause sentences mirrored the maximal diversity of his music's language. In addition, Brody pondered Babbitt's razor sharp scrutiny of education, evaluating in particular his notion of the "musical citizen". It was a fitting paper with which to begin this event, as it focused the audience and participants on the specificity of language in the Collected Essays. While Babbitt's writings never shy away from loquacity, their purpose is to communicate his intentions with utmost clarity.

Joseph Dubiel (Columbia University) and Robert Morris (Eastman School of Music) followed with papers that explored Babbitt's work as a music theorist. Dubiel's talk dealt with questions of "contextuality" (a favorite Babbitt-ism) and twelve tone composition. The twelve tone method has often been overgeneralized and misrepresented (particularly by its detractors). Dubiel demonstrated how Babbitt's writings (as well as his compositions) illustrate the diverse ways in which it may be employed by composers, that it is not a "once size fits all" methodology. Thus, music theorists must take a correspondingly flexible approach to post-tonal analysis, evaluating both the context and content of a twelve tone piece.

Morris, author of Composition with Pitch Classes, has formidable analytical chops (to say the least); he was kind enough to supply the audience with a hand-out to aid in their discernment of his paper. As Morris himself remarked, he has only become personally acquainted with Babbitt relatively recently, but his work has for decades been strongly influenced by the analytical possibilities suggested in Babbitt's writings. His "Four Anecdotes" were really theoretical puzzles rather than personal reminiscences, but were fascinating nevertheless. The lighting was low during his talk, and I could see many heads buried in the handout when the lights came back up, as the audience attempted to grapple with the arrays and Karnough graphs that had been so difficult to read before.

The day's second session featured "Colleagues". As you might imagine, this portion emphasized personal reminiscences. In an echo of Martin Brody's discussion of Babbitt's multi-part sentence structures, Paul Lansky's paper shared a story about his student days at Princeton, where he and his classmates would "parenthesis watch", looking to see how the three or four threads that Babbitt had going in a sentence would be dealt with. After a particularly heroic escape from missing a closed parenthesis, the students would applaud with their feet (like orchestral musicians).

Teaching colleagues Edward T. Cone, Claudio Spies and Peter Westergaard also talked about Babbitt's impact on the music department at Princeton. Cone's remarks departed notably from his colleagues in two respects. First, Cone demonstrated a few brief musical examples (Wagner, Scarlatti, etc.) at the piano -- the only notes of music heard all day! Second, he was the only speaker who indulged in a bit of playful razzing. Cone brought a fifty year-old note written to him by Babbitt; it commented on a string quartet that Cone had written and its "implicative tonality". Cone said that he had been waiting for fifty years to find out just what Babbitt had meant by "implicative" instead of "implied". This was a point that Babbitt was happy to clarify in his remarks later in the afternoon; he had meant something that looked towards the future as well as to the past, which "implied" wouldn't quite cover!

Gentle jousts aside, the Princeton community demonstrated a great deal of affection towards Babbitt. One testament to his legacy was the number of distinguished former students and colleagues who gathered to honor him. Even Harold Powers, who was stuck in India due to travel problems and had to miss the event, sent a transcontinental greeting.

The final group session of the afternoon featured the four editors of The Collected Essays: Dembski, Mead, Peles and Straus. Dembski and Mead shared their experiences as students of Babbitt, when they first wrestled with understanding the formidable articles that they would one day edit. Both emphasized the degree to which Babbitt's voice, with its sepulchral resonance and distinctive cadence, became a key to unlocking the intricacies of the essays. Reading them aloud, in an imitation of Babbitt's delivery, became a staple part of their process of assimilating the material. (Readers who have not yet heard Babbitt speak are strongly urged to get a copy of the Koch recording Soli e Duettini, which features the author reading "On Having Been and Still Being an American Composer").

Peles's paper, "To Tell the Truth: Babbitt and the Positivists", explores how Babbitt's writings delineate the challenges of a positivistic approach to music theory. Babbitt suggests that music theory, a relatively young field, should look to more established fields for inspiration in creating a methodological approach. At the same time, he notes that even linguistics, in the words of Nelson Goodman, "is not so old a subject that one can predict what aspects of the theory (or structure) may eventually prove to be pertinent". Thus, theorists must guard against false assumptions and tantalizing, but as yet unproven, universal norms. All the while, they should continually seek to refine the language of music analysis.

Straus's paper, "Remarks on 'Remarks on the Recent Stravinsky'", was the last presentation of the editors' session. In it, Straus commented on how Babbitt's famous essay, "Remarks on the Recent Stravinsky", had a far-reaching influence over his own creative work. Straus recently published a book on late Stravinsky. While he cited "Remarks" as a source, it was only when he returned to the article to edit it for the Collected Essays that he realized just how influential it had been on his thought processes. Ideas that he had thought were common knowledge and even ones that he thought were his own ended up being part of the Babbitt essay. With musical examples (and another thoughtful handout), Straus demonstrated the various ways in which Babbitt was ahead of the curve, anticipating significant issues in the analysis of late Stravinsky. This is especially noteworthy when one considers that Babbitt's essay was written in 1962, very close to the dates of composition of a number of the works in question. Just as Brody's paper in the morning had been a very fitting opener, Straus managed to find the perfect tone for the last paper of the day, quoting Babbitt's testimonial about Stravinsky: "How old he makes us feel, this remarkable composer, this extraordinary man who is eighty. I can but selfishly hope that when he is ninety I will be regarded as an appropriate choice to speak on his then-latest works. In any event, in the meantime, I shall be doing my best to keep up."

The day would not have been complete, however, without some remarks from Milton Babbitt. Defusing its categorization on the program as a "Response" by stating wryly that he "agreed with all that you've said", Babbitt proceeded to take questions from the audience, requesting that they be asked by young people. This gesture bridged the gap between those who have known Babbitt as author, teacher and composer for years and those who are just discovering his remarkable writings and compositions. Hopefully, the availability of a volume such as the Collected Essays will mean that many more young composers, theorists and performers will become acquainted with Babbitt's work.

On February 5th, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York held another event to celebrate the publication of the Collected Essays. Once again, the editors and Babbitt were present. Straus, Dembski and Mead gave similar talks to the ones that they had presented at Princeton, but Peles gave a different paper, about the close ties that Babbitt has had to New York's music scene and the city itself. It was colorfully populated by many historical figures and certainly helped to set the stage for Babbitt's journey as author and composer. I wish that the various papers from both the CUNY and Princeton events could be made available as a companion volume to the Collected Essays; several seem to provide valuable perspective on the impact of both Babbitt's writings and his persona itself.

After the editors' remarks, Babbitt joined them for a roundtable discussion. This touched upon a host of issues, including the difficulties that Babbitt experienced when first publishing his early essays. Several of his editors back then were less than sympathetic and helpful -- a stark contrast to the devotion of the quartet who edited The Collected Essays. After briefly mentioning Babbitt's current orchestral project, Concerto, talk turned to his ill-fated and unperformed violin concerto, whose electronic tape part was left unfinished after burglars pillaged the Columbia-Princeton RCA Synthesizer. It is truly sad to hear Babbitt recount this unfortunate story, as it demonstrates how many frustrations his compositional career has endured.

Sensing impending gloom, Stephen Peles managed turned the conversation back to brighter banter. Referencing his essay about Babbitt as the quintessential New Yorker, he asked the composer where he could find a "real bagel in New York" these days. Babbitt's wry wit quickly reemerged. "You can't find one anymore. They're extinct!" Babbitt followed with an assessment that it is not just the bagel that is in decline: "I fear that as goes the bagel, so goes the croissant." The quintet then adjourned, ceding the floor to performing musicians. The audience would have an opportunity to meet with them afterwards at a lively reception and book-signing.

Unlike the Princeton event, which focused on words about music, the CUNY evening featured several performances of Babbitt's music. Flutist Jayn Rosenfeld, clarinetist Jean Kopperud, and percussionist James Baker, all members of the New York New Music Ensemble, performed When Shall We Three Meet Again?, an incredibly vigorous and virtuosic work.

Guitarist William Anderson performed the solo Danci. His playing was positively beguiling, displaying lovely tone and sensitive musicianship. He was joined by fellow guitarist Oren Fader for the work Soli e Duettini (Both of these performers are members of the Cygnus Ensemble). As can be imagined from the title, this composition features solo turns as well as duet passages. In spots, Babbitt seems to create one "super guitar" out of the two; other passages call upon the duo to spar in vivid counterpoint. The piece was played superlatively; Anderson and Fader received a warm (and well-deserved) ovation upon its conclusion.

In addition to words and music, the CUNY event also featured a short excerpt from Milton Babbitt: Portrait of a Serial Composer, a film by Robert Hilferty. Unfortunately, this segment played more for laughs and shtick instead of giving a meaningful portrayal of Babbitt (it did, however, feature some eyebrow-raising historic footage of David Brinkley making nasty comments about his music). The film, as yet uncompleted, cannot be judged by this excerpt; hopefully, Hilferty will try to tighten things up before finishing the project.

All in all, the past few months have been an exciting time for those who are interested in Babbitt's words and music. The future bodes well too, as Babbitt is at work on completing an orchestral piece, Concerti for Orchestra, commissioned by the Boston Symphony. The world premiere is scheduled for Jan. 13, 14 and 15, 2005 at Symphony Hall in Boston.

Thanks to Scott Burnham and Paul Lansky of Princeton University, as well as Andrew Mead, Stephen Dembski, Stephen Peles, Robert Morris, Martin Brody, Joseph Dubiel and Joseph Straus, for generously sharing materials and advice.

-- Christian Carey