Babbitt - Soli e Duettini

September 2006

“…once shorn of its polyphonic overgrowths, Babbit's music is open and witty stuff. He writes for each instrument accordingly to its talents, and listening to their different personalities is like attending a fantasy cocktail party where you meet one fascinating character after another without anyone else butting in. Whirled Series and Beaten Paths give up their secrets more readily than the other works here, perhaps because the instruments featured (saxophone and marimba) are as unaffected by tradition as the musical discourse.”