Milton Babbitt (1916-2011)

Introduction
Milton Babbitt was an American composer who was born on May 10th, 1916 in New Jersey. He practiced total serialism. Serialism is where not only all 12 tones are used, but also dynamics, duration, tone color, and registers.

Work Analysis
The work I will go into detail about is Ensembles for Synthesizer (1962-1964). This is an electronic music piece that was one of Babbitt's pieces that started to give him recognition in the electronic music scene. This piece was created in the seconds period of Babbitt's compositional career. This composition took 2 years to complete and was completed at Colombia University Electronic Music Center in 1964. This piece consists of experimental electronic timbres, but when looking at the elements like pitch, or dynamics there is little to no form or organization to the sounds created. This type of composition is very reminiscent of the 12-tone row compositions we have looked at, but taking that concept and looking at it through a modern lens that allows for more control over the timbre of the sounds. Some of these sounds seem more reminiscent of the noises of the Game Boy, while others sound like the presets on a beginner's electronic keyboard.

Comparisons
Babbitt's work seems to be just a modernized version of the music of composers like Dallapiccola, and other user's of the 12-tone row. Babbitt's work also can seem very much like the music of Ives because of the ability for pushing the boundaries of what was perceived as "music" before their time. This specific piece also seems very atmospheric, but electronic at the same time. This atmospheric composition seem very similar to the work of György Ligeti, but if his piece Atmosphères was adapted to the electronic synthesizer sound. The legacy of Babbitt is the the purity of his serialism, the music he created perfectly encapsulated the essence of the style of serialism

Observations
What I took away from Milton Babbitt's music is that electronic music can still be something that can be compared in the same realm as traditional composed music. The music was something that I would definitely listen to in order to focus, or relax. The atmospheric nature of the piece allowed for the optimal conditions for just having my eyes closed and just letting go of any worries. It was also interesting to hear music from a purely serial point of view, its an outlook on music that is basically the complete opposite of the music that is prevalent today.