Babbitt, Milton (Byron)

(born May 10, 1916, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. composer. At Princeton University he studied with composer Roger Sessions and later joined the faculty. He became one of the first U.S. 12-tone composers, and he was (with his , 1947) perhaps the first composer to write totally serialized music based on ordered structures not only of pitch but of elements such as rhythm and dynamics. Working with RCA's Mark II synthesizer from 1957 to 1975, he became one of the first Americans to write electronically synthesized music. His music was considered difficult to perform but also good-humoured and playful.

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