In Milton Babbitt’s 1958 article The Composer as a Specialist, the issues between contemporary music composers and listeners were addressed in depth. Babbitt acknowledges the “musical and societal isolation” of contemporary music and the composers who executed it. There is a rough relationship between composers (and performers) and the listeners. This can be seen especially in “new” contemporary music.
In traditional music, the listener is put on a pedestal, because somehow their opinions are considered the highest form of feedback. How is this possible, considering that most listeners do not even possess the slightest amount of knowledge regarding the process of composing music? Babbitt makes the interesting comparison to physics and physicists. No one would dare to tell a physicist or a mathematician that they ‘don’t like’ their theory, because how could they come to that conclusion without any real knowledge about the research? This can be applied exactly to music. What gives listeners the right to openly opine about music that they ‘don’t like’, when in reality they simply do not understand it? Humans are scared of discomfort and uncertainty in knowledge, but this does not justify the dismissiveness that is allotted to “new” contemporary music. Listeners with traditionally coddled ears feel the need to associate past music with comfort, and new contemporary music with ‘decadence’. This is like bringing theoretical physicists research to a halt. It is stunting music evolution.
Babbitt comes up with a solution. Why the need for listeners? Well, in reality if the composer isn’t trying to convey a message or an idea to the public, why should they need listeners? Do theoretical physicists need the public’s opinion on new theories? I don’t think so. So why should musical composers? Why should composers depend on a public that will criticize and degrade their music because they simply do not understand it and won’t make the effort to evolve their musical standards? The fact is, they shouldn’t. Music should, and sometimes does come from a composer’s calling to create. I don’t see physicists proving theories to make the public happy. They do it to solve the never ending questions of the natural world, much like composers do to understand the infinite musical possibilities. If this new music is not supported, these entitled members of the public will not be affected in the slightest. “But music will cease to evolve, and, in that important sense, will cease to live.” (Strunk, 41).
