RIP Milton Babbitt: Friend of Difficult Music, Lover of Beer

photo by Steve Sherman for the New York Times

Milton Babbitt, 1916 – 2011

Milton Babbitt, iconic composer of difficult music, beer lover, and Tin Pan Alley poptunes buff passed away on January 29, 2011. Check out the nytimes for a charming obituary of the man. One Woman wants to dedicate the North Coast Brewing's Old Rasputin to Milton. Quite portly, shamelessly complex (ever so slightly overly so, and yet, at the same time, not), classically delicious, and timelessly passé. Author of that famous 1958 article titled "Who Cares if You Listen," he's clearly infuriating in his snarkiness [N.B. He claims that the editor gave the article that title, but regardless, it doesn't do the essay any disservice]. But in pieces like his classic, Philomel, it's not the technique or the theory that unfortunately possessed too many of his followers that's the most interesting thing. Not that I would listen to Babbitt while I'm making French toast on a Sunday morning, but there's a sense of delight somewhere in his music: both a kind of sincere enchantment with technology, and a hilariously sardonic sense of humor that makes me think, he would have been secretly very amused to see Philomel as a Broadway number (hit play to hear part 1 of the piece).



One Woman will return to this blog in February. Stay tuned!