Marion Bauer - Legacy

Legacy

Bauer's legacy can be measured not only by her output of at least 160 compositions along with her five books, but also by the impact she had on the careers of both Ruth Crawford Seeger and Milton Babbitt, who went on to become well-known American composers of the twentieth century. After they met at the MacDowell Colony in 1929, Bauer encouraged Crawford's efforts in composition and “contributed greatly to Crawford's musical growth and her professional visibility.” For Crawford, Bauer represented a powerful connection into the musical establishment. With her position at the Musical Leader, Bauer was able to publish “a glowing review of a private concert of Crawford's music”; additionally, Bauer introduced Crawford to Gustave Reese, an editor at the G. Schirmer publishing company at the time.

Bauer also played a significant role in Babbitt's career development. Babbitt decided to study with Bauer at NYU in February 1934 after reading her 1933 edition of Twentieth Century Music. In the introduction to the later edition, Babbitt recollected his thoughts upon reading the work for the first time: “ere was a book...which concerned itself interestedly, admiringly, enthusiastically, even affectionately with works of music which, in most academic environments, were unmentionables, untouchables, and unspeakables, and anywhere else were unknowns.” Babbitt specifically mentions his appreciation for her discussion of the serialist composers with accompanying musical examples; during the Depression years, scores (especially of new music) were prohibitively expensive to own personally, and only a few libraries had copies. Babbitt greatly respected Bauer, saying in 1983 that Bauer was “a wonderful lady...whose name I'm going to do everything in the world to immortalize.”