from newmusicbox.org, 12/2001: "A Discussion in 12 parts with Milton Babbitt..."
I will leave copies in my mailbox, otherwise you can find it at newmusicbox.org, click on "archives." This is a LARGE article. I highly recommend you read it ahead of time. It will be difficult to just skim it as you are taking the quiz, although I know that none of you would ever do that!
two articles in the photocopied book which I will also leave in my mailbox: Boulez, "Schoenberg is Dead," and Babbitt, "Who Cares If You Listen?" These two articles are a bit heady (but very very important), so read carefully and critically.
If you have any questions about the reading, email me.
Use the questions to guide your note-taking. Do not quote verbatim from the book without putting quotes around it. When taking the quiz, try to paraphrase as much as possible, but if you have to use something verbatim, use quotation marks and cite the source.
questions:
1) What are some alternative terms for "classical" music and what are the problems with each?
2) What are the difficulties facing young composers today?
3) Why did Babbitt stop writing for the RCA synthesizer and what does he write for now?
4) What does Babbitt say is the lie about serial composers and how does he refute that lie?
5) What does Babbitt think is the basic requirement for understanding serial music?
6) What other kinds of music (other than serial) does Babbitt write?
7) What is the reasoning behind Babbitt's titles?
8) What does Babbitt say about the future of today's young composers and what sort of things does he teach his students?
9) What is Boulez's main criticism of Schoenberg?
10) What, according to Babbitt, are the four qualities of "contemporary serious music" that cause a schism between it and its listeners?
11) Summarize the reasons Babbitt gives for why new music does not need the approval of a general audience.
12) What does Babbitt suggest is the solution to the problem of trying to reconcile new music with the general public?