Jacques Barzun (1907 - ) was the son of a dadaist poet, and was exposed to many forms of art. In 1919 he moved from Paris to the United States to attend princeton. He received a Doctorate, and began teaching there until he retired. He has written more than 30 books on history and criticism.
This article was composed of introductory remarks to a program of works produced at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. He basically just talked about how electronic music should be taken. You shouldn't listen and keep a closed mind. He says that electronic music was a natural next step in the music making process. As music develops, so does the means of creating it. He then brings up the argument of noise. Berlioz and Wagner were both called noisy. It's all a matter of opinion basically. The next thing he argued was whether a machine can create art. He basically explained the fact that every instrument besides the voice is a machine. It's a man made thing in order to create noise.
In conclusion, when listening to electronic music, keep a very open mind. Never make assumptions, and try and understand what the composer was trying to get across to the listener.
