The Composer as Hermit (2005)

In his article "Who Cares if You Listen?" Milton Babbitt accurately summarizes the current condition of new music. New – or contemporary – music struggles to find a receptive and capable audience in a culture that considers it a right to formulate opinions of music, regardless of level of expertise. Babbitt contends that his music inhabits an "alien and inapposite world" incapable of comprehending it. The combination of public critique and confoundment leads Babbitt to his final allegation: "it is only the translation of boredom and puzzlement into resentment and denunciation that seems to me indefensible." He concludes, however, that for music to continue evolving, new-music composers must leave the public domain and seclude themselves in universities. While Babbitt's diagnosis of the problem facing contemporary composers is correct, his suggested response undoes his goal – to continue musical evolution – and ignores other possible solutions.

Babbitt proposes, leaving the current "alien and inapposite world" for a smaller, confined one. This disregards the possibility of changing the "world" in which music currently resides. Dislike – stemming from misunderstanding – is unacceptable, but "puzzlement" does not always lead to "resentment and denunciation." For instance (borrowing Babbitt's use of scientific analogies), great scientists such as Stephen Hawking have become famous precisely because they work in realms of knowledge beyond that of the layman. Acknowledgment of the highly-advanced nature of their work breeds the appreciation for it. Therefore, music should strive for similar treatment. While people may lack the capabilities to understand the intricacies utilized in creating Babbitt's music, they can at least recognize and value that lack of understanding.

Babbitt himself admits that his music may have no "immediate ‘practical' applicability." This statement implies that, in time, his music will become used in the realm of "practical" – or more widely-known – music. Assuming this, it would seem obvious and worthwhile to give the "world" a chance to catch up with the changing music, and let it begin to appreciate new music even if that does not include understanding it. In proposing a contemporary-composer exodus, Babbitt pays no attention to the possibility of changing (or at least allowing change in) the culture of music listening.

If Babbitt's purpose is to continue music's evolution, then to seclude himself by vanishing into a tangential musical "world" would be counterproductive. Even if his music develops in isolation, it has no way to return and further music's general advancement. Babbitt's music would, in effect, cease to exist. Undoubtedly, the current culture treats new-music composers hostilely, but removing themselves from the public would defeat the entire purpose of composition. To remain a contributing force to music, Mr. Babbitt and his peers must attempt to change, or at least withstand, the current culture rather than abandon it.