Concerti e Concerti: Babbitt’s Mysterious Bedfellows

Abstract

This essay traces the circumstances that led up to and made possible the world premiere of Babbitt’s incomplete Concerti for Violin, Orchestra, and Synthesized Tape (1976). It then offers analytical remarks on both this concerto and Babbitt’s later Concerti for Orchestra (2004).

Keywords:

• Babbitt
• Electronic Tape
• Violin
• Concerto
• Juilliard
• Synthesizer
• Twelve-Tone

Acknowledgements

Heartfelt thanks to the estate of Milton Babbitt for permission for the use of the composer’s sketches.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Jacob Lateiner premiered Elliott Carter’s Piano Concerto in 1967, with Erich Leinsdorf leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

2 The first five minutes of the electronic part (the synthesized tape) can be heard here: https://soundcloud.com/milton-babbitt/sets/concerti-for-violin-orchestra.

3 Sachs (2016).

4 According to Garton, composer Luke Dubois had the RCA Mark II functioning in 2000. Its sounds were included in the CD File under Futurism featuring artists DJ Spooky and Freight Elevator Quartet (2000).

5 A recording of the entire 2016 performance exists but, as yet, the Juilliard School has made it available only on a limited basis to its own students and teachers, or on an individual basis. Yet a human-computer rendition of bb. 1–3 can be heard within the playlist here (which also includes the entire electronic-tape part): https://soundcloud.com/milton-babbitt/sets/concerti-for-violin-orchestra.

6 See Mead (1994 or 2021) for definitions and explanations of terms.

7 Babbitt's 2004 Concerti can be heard here: https://tinyurl.com/ycnxe6ad. Another perspective on this piece is offered in Morris (2012).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jonathan Dawe

Jonathan Dawe is a member of the Music Theory and Analysis, Graduate Studies, and Doctoral faculty departments at The Juilliard School. As a composer he is cited for his use of Fractal Geometry and other non-linear dynamic systems in his work. Compositions have been performed by The Boston Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, New York City Opera, BOP (Ballet -Opéra-Pantomine) as well as numerous chamber ensembles. Dawe studied composition with Richard Hoffmann (Oberlin, BM) and Milton Babbitt (Juilliard MM, DMA.)