Charles Ives
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Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American
modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Later in life, the quality of his music was publicly recognized through the efforts of contemporaries like Henry Cowell and
Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his for ...
, and he came to be regarded as an "American original". He was also among the first composers to engage in a systematic program of
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
, with
musical technique Musical technique is the ability of instrumental and vocal musicians to exert optimal control of their instruments or vocal cords in order to produce the precise musical effects they desire. Improving one's technique generally entails practicin ...
s including
polytonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key ...
,
polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...
, tone clusters,
aleatory Aleatoricism or aleatorism, the noun associated with the adjectival aleatory and aleatoric, is a term popularised by the musical composer Pierre Boulez, but also Witold Lutosławski and Franco Evangelisti, for compositions resulting from "actio ...
elements, and quarter tones. His experimentation foreshadowed many musical innovations that were later more widely adopted during the 20th century. Hence, he is often regarded as the leading American composer of art music of the 20th century. Sources of Ives's tonal imagery included hymn tunes and traditional songs; he also incorporated melodies of the town band at holiday parade, the fiddlers at Saturday night dances, patriotic songs, sentimental parlor ballads, and the melodies of
Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...
.


Biography

Ives was born in
Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...
, on October 20, 1874, the son of George (Edward) Ives (August 3, 1845 – November 4, 1894), a
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
bandleader in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Ives (née Parmelee, January 2, 1849 or 1850 – January 25, 1929). The Iveses were one of Danbury’s leading families, and they were prominent in business and civic improvement. They were similary active in progressive social movements of the last century, including the abolition of slavery. George Ives directed bands, choirs, and orchestras, and taught
music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
and a number of instruments. Charles got his influences by sitting in the Danbury town square and listening to his father's marching band and other bands on other sides of the square
simultaneously Simultaneity may refer to: * Relativity of simultaneity, a concept in special relativity. * Simultaneity (music), more than one complete musical texture occurring at the same time, rather than in succession * Simultaneity, a concept in Endogene ...
. His father taught him and his brother (Joseph) Moss Ives (February 5, 1876 – April 7, 1939) music, teaching harmony and counterpoint and guided his first compositions; George took an open-minded approach to theory, encouraging him to experiment in
bitonal Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, ...
and polytonal harmonizations. It was from him that Ives also learned the music of
Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...
. He became a church
organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
at the age of 14 and wrote various hymns and songs for church services, including his ''
Variations on "America" ''Variations on "America"'' is a composition for organ by the American composer Charles Ives. Composition Composed in 1891 when Ives was seventeen, it is an arrangement of a traditional tune, known as "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" (words ...
'', which he wrote for a
Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...
concert in
Brewster, New York Brewster is a village and the principal settlement within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York. Its population was 2,390 at the time of the 2010 census. The village, which is the most densely populated portion of the county, was nam ...
. It is considered challenging even by modern concert organists, but he famously spoke of it as being "as much fun as playing
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
", a commentary on his own organ technique at that age.. Ives moved to
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
in 1893, enrolling in the
Hopkins School Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found s ...
, where he captained the baseball team. In September 1894, Ives entered
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, studying under
Horatio Parker Horatio William Parker (September 15, 1863 – December 18, 1919) was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the undergradu ...
. Here he composed in a choral style similar to his mentor, writing church music and even an 1896 campaign song for
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
.. On November 4, 1894, his father died, a crushing blow to him, but to a large degree he continued the musical experimentation he had begun with him. His brother Moss later became a lawyer. At Yale, Ives was a prominent figure; he was a member of HeBoule,
Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
(Phi chapter) and
Wolf's Head Society Wolf's Head Society is a senior society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies at Yale, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key. Active undergraduate membership is elected annual ...
, and sat as chairman of the Ivy Committee. He enjoyed sports at Yale and played on the varsity
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
team. Michael C. Murphy, his coach, once remarked that it was a "crying shame" that he spent so much time at music as otherwise he could have been a champion sprinter. His works ''
Calcium Light Night ''Calcium Light Night'' is a piece of music by American composer Charles Ives. It is one of his ''Cartoons or Take-Offs'' and is scored for piccolo, clarinet, cornet, trombone, bass drum, and two pianos (four players). (Ives suggested in a ...
'' and ''Yale-Princeton Football Game'' show the influence of college and sports on Ives's composition. He wrote his Symphony No. 1 as his senior thesis under Parker's supervision. Ives continued his work as a church organist until May 1902. Soon after he graduated from Yale in 1898, he started work in the actuarial department of the Mutual Life Insurance company of New York. In 1899, Ives moved to employment with the insurance agency Charles H. Raymond & Co., where he stayed until 1906. In 1907, upon the failure of Raymond & Co., he and his friend Julian Myrick formed their own insurance agency Ives & Co., which later became Ives & Myrick, where he remained until he retired.. During his career as an insurance executive and actuary, Ives devised creative ways to structure life-insurance packages for people of means, which laid the foundation of the modern practice of
estate planning Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person's life, for the management and disposal of that person's estate during the person's life, in the event the person becomes incapacitated and after death. The planning inc ...
. His ''Life Insurance with Relation to Inheritance Tax'', published in 1918, was well received. As a result of this he achieved considerable fame in the insurance industry of his time, with many of his business peers surprised to learn that he was also a composer. In his spare time he composed music and, until his marriage, worked as an organist in Danbury and New Haven as well as
Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 53,105. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District. History The initial patent for the land that w ...
and New York City. In 1907, Ives suffered the first of several "heart attacks" (as he and his family called them) that he had throughout his life. These attacks may have been psychological in origin rather than physical. Following his recovery from the 1907 attack, Ives entered into one of the most creative periods of his life as a composer. In 1908 he married Harmony Twichell, daughter of Congregational minister
Joseph Twichell Reverend Joseph Hopkins Twichell (November 30, 1838 – December 20, 1918) was a writer and Congregational minister from Hartford, Connecticut. He was a close friend of writer Mark Twain for over forty years and is believed to be the model for th ...
and his wife Julia Harmony Cushman. The young couple moved into their own apartment in New York. Ives had a successful career in insurance. He also continued to be a prolific composer until he suffered another of several heart attacks in 1918, after which he composed very little. He wrote his last piece, the song "Sunrise," in August 1926. In 1922, Ives published his ''114 Songs'', which represents the breadth of his work as a composer—it includes art songs, songs he wrote as a teenager and young man, and highly
dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive Sound, sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness ...
songs such as "The Majority". According to his wife, one day in early 1927 Ives came downstairs with tears in his eyes. He could compose no more, he said; "nothing sounds right".. There have been numerous theories advanced to explain the silence of his late years. It seems as mysterious as the last several decades of the life of
Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...
, who stopped composing at almost the same time. While Ives had stopped composing, and was increasingly plagued by health problems, he continued to revise and refine his earlier work, as well as oversee premieres of his music. After continuing health problems, including
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
, in 1930 he retired from his insurance business. Although he had more time to devote to music, he was unable to write any new music. During the 1940s he revised his ''
Concord Sonata The Piano Sonata No. 2, ''Concord, Mass., 1840–60'' (commonly known as the ''Concord Sonata'') is a piano sonata by Charles Ives. It is one of the composer's best-known and most highly regarded pieces. A typical performance of the piece lasts ar ...
'', publishing it in 1947 (an earlier version of the sonata and the accompanying prose volume, ''Essays Before a Sonata'' were privately printed in 1920).. Ives died of a stroke in 1954 in New York City. His widow, who died in 1969 at age 92, bequeathed the royalties from his music to the
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
for the
Charles Ives Prize The Charles Ives Awards are scholarships for young composers, awarded annually by the American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excel ...
.


Musical career

Ives's career and dedication to music began when he started playing drums in his father's band at a young age. Ives published a large collection of songs, many of which had piano parts. He composed two string quartets and other works of chamber music, though he is now best known for his orchestral music. His work as an organist led him to write ''
Variations on "America" ''Variations on "America"'' is a composition for organ by the American composer Charles Ives. Composition Composed in 1891 when Ives was seventeen, it is an arrangement of a traditional tune, known as "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" (words ...
'' in 1891, which he premiered at a recital celebrating the Fourth of July. In 1906, Ives composed the first radical musical work of the twentieth century, ''
Central Park in the Dark ''Central Park in the Dark'' is a musical composition by Charles Ives for chamber orchestra. It was composed in 1906 and has been paired with '' The Unanswered Question'' as part of "Two Contemplations" and with ''Hallowe'en'' and ''The Pond'' i ...
''. He composed four numbered symphonies as well as a number of works with the word 'Symphony' in their titles, as well as '' The Unanswered Question'' (1908), written for the unusual combination of trumpet, four flutes, and string quartet. ''The Unanswered Question'' was influenced by the New England writers
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...
and
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...
. Around 1910, Ives began composing his most accomplished works, including the ''
Holiday Symphony ''A Symphony: New England Holidays'', also known as ''A New England Holiday Symphony'' or simply a ''Holiday Symphony'', is a composition for orchestra written by Charles Ives. It took Ives from 1897 to 1913 to complete all four movements. The fo ...
'' and ''
Three Places in New England The ''Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No. 1)'' is a composition for orchestra in three movements by American composer Charles Ives. It was written mainly between 1911 and 1914, but with sketches dating as far back as 1903 and last revisi ...
''. ''The Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass.'', known as the ''
Concord Sonata The Piano Sonata No. 2, ''Concord, Mass., 1840–60'' (commonly known as the ''Concord Sonata'') is a piano sonata by Charles Ives. It is one of the composer's best-known and most highly regarded pieces. A typical performance of the piece lasts ar ...
'', was one of his most notable pieces. He started work on this in 1911 and completed most of it in 1915. However, it was not until 1920 that the piece was published. His revised version was not released until 1947. This piece contains one of the most striking examples of his experimentation. In the second movement, he instructed the pianist to use a piece of wood to create a massive cluster chord. The piece also amply demonstrates Ives's fondness for
musical quotation Musical quotation is the practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition. The quotation may be from the same composer's work (self-referential), or from a different composer's work (appropriation). Sometimes the quotation is done for ...
: the opening bars of
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's Symphony No. 5 are quoted in each movement. Sinclair's catalogue also notes less obvious quotations of Beethoven's ''Hammerklavier'' Sonata and various other works. Another notable piece of orchestral music Ives completed was his Symphony No. 4. He worked on this from 1910 to 1916. This four-movement symphony is notable for its complexity and vast orchestra. A complete performance of the work was not given until 1965, half a century after it was completed and over a decade after Ives's death. Ives left behind material for an unfinished '' Universe Symphony'', which he was unable to complete despite two decades of work. This was due to his health problems as well as his shifting ideas of the work.


Reception

Ives's music was largely ignored during his life, particularly during the years in which he actively composed. Many of his published works went unperformed even many years after his death in 1954. However, his reputation in more recent years has greatly increased. The
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of his death by performing his music over six days in 2004. His musical experiments, including his increasing use of dissonance, were not well received by his contemporaries. The difficulties in performing the rhythmic complexities in his major orchestral works made them daunting challenges even decades after they were composed. Early supporters of Ives's music included Henry Cowell,
Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...
, and
Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
. Cowell's periodical ''New Music'' published a substantial number of Ives's scores (with his approval). But for nearly 40 years, Ives had few performances of his music that he did not personally arrange or financially back. He generally used Nicolas Slonimsky as the conductor. After seeing a copy of Ives's self-published ''114 Songs'' during the 1930s, Copland published a newspaper article praising the collection. Ives began to acquire some public recognition during the 1930s, with performances of a chamber orchestra version of his ''
Three Places in New England The ''Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No. 1)'' is a composition for orchestra in three movements by American composer Charles Ives. It was written mainly between 1911 and 1914, but with sketches dating as far back as 1903 and last revisi ...
'', both in the US and on tour in Europe by conductor Nicolas Slonimsky.
The Town Hall (New York City) The Town Hall (also Town Hall) is a performance space at 123 West 43rd Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue near Times Square, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It was built from 1919 to 1921 and designed by ...
premiered his ''Concord Sonata'' in 1939, featuring pianist John Kirkpatrick. This received favorable commentary in the major New York newspapers. Later, around the time of Ives's death in 1954, Kirkpatrick teamed with soprano Helen Boatwright for the first extended recorded recital of Ives's songs for the obscure Overtone label (Overtone Records catalog number 7). They recorded a new selection of songs for the Ives Centennial Collection that
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
published in 1974. In the 1940s, Ives met
Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his for ...
, a fan of his music who began to edit and promote it. Most notably, Harrison conducted the premiere of the Symphony No. 3, ''The Camp Meeting'' (1904) in 1946. The next year, it won Ives the
Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted ...
. He gave the prize money away (half of it to Harrison), saying "prizes are for boys, and I'm all grown up". Ives was a generous financial supporter of twentieth-century music, often financing works that were written by other composers. This he did in secret, telling his beneficiaries that his wife wanted him to do so. Nicolas Slonimsky said in 1971, "He financed my entire career". At this time, Ives was also promoted by
Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
, who worked as a conductor at CBS and in 1940 became principal conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra. While there, he championed Ives's music. When they met, Herrmann confessed that he had tried his hand at performing the ''Concord Sonata''. Ives, who avoided the radio and the phonograph, agreed to make a series of piano recordings from 1933 to 1943. One of the more unusual recordings, made in New York City in 1943, features Ives playing the piano and singing the words to his popular World War I song "They Are There!", which he composed in 1917. He revised it in 1942–43 for
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Ives's piano recordings were later issued in 1974 by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
on a special LP set for his centenary.
New World Records New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres.Lloyd Powell Lloyd Powell (22 August 188825 March 1975) was an English, later Canadian pianist and teacher. Career Lloyd Ioan Powell was born in Ironbridge, Shropshire in 1888.''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 5th ed (1954), Vol. VI, p. 901 His p ...
played a series of concerts including all of Ives's piano works, at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
. Recognition of Ives's music steadily increased. He received praise from
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
, who regarded him as a monument to artistic integrity, and from the New York School of
William Schuman William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910February 15, 1992) was an American composer and arts administrator. Life Schuman was born into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, son of Samuel and Rachel Schuman. He was named after the 27th U.S. ...
. Shortly after Schoenberg's death (three years before Ives died), his widow found a note written by her husband. The note had originally been written in 1944 when Schoenberg was living in Los Angeles and teaching at UCLA. It said: Ives reportedly also won the admiration of
Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
, who said that he was a true musical revolutionary. Mahler was said to have talked of premiering Ives's third symphony with the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
, but he died in 1911 before conducting this premiere. The source of this account was Ives; since Mahler died, there was no way to verify whether he had seen the score of the symphony or decided to perform it in the 1911–12 season. Ives regularly attended New York Philharmonic concerts and probably heard Mahler conduct the Philharmonic at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
. In 1951,
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
conducted the world premiere of Ives's Symphony No. 2 in a broadcast concert by the New York Philharmonic. The Iveses heard the performance on their cook's radio and were amazed at the audience's warm reception to the music. Bernstein continued to conduct Ives's music and made a number of recordings with the Philharmonic for Columbia Records. He honored Ives on one of his televised youth concerts and in a special disc included with the reissue of the 1960 recording of the second symphony and the "Fourth of July" movement from Ives's ''Holiday Symphony''. Another pioneering Ives recording, undertaken during the 1950s, was the first complete set of the four violin sonatas, performed by Minneapolis Symphony concertmaster Rafael Druian and John Simms.
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...
took on Symphony No. 4 in 1965, regarding the work as "the heart of the Ives problem". The Carnegie Hall world premiere by the American Symphony Orchestra led to the first recording of the music. Another promoter of his was choral conductor Gregg Smith, who made a series of recordings of his shorter works during the 1960s. These included the first stereo recordings of the psalm settings and arrangements of many short pieces for theater orchestra. The
Juilliard String Quartet The Juilliard String Quartet is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman. Since its inception, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. It has received numerous ...
recorded the two string quartets during the 1960s. In the early 21st century, conductor
Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of ...
is an enthusiastic exponent of Ives's symphonies, as is composer and biographer
Jan Swafford Jan Swafford (born September 10, 1946) is an American author and composer. He earned his Bachelor of Arts ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard College and his M.M.A. and D.M.A. from the Yale School of Music. His teachers included Earl Kim at Harvard, ...
. Ives's work is regularly programmed in Europe. He has also inspired pictorial artists, most notably
Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March ...
, who entitled one of his 1970s sets of
prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserve ...
''Calcium Light Night'', each print being named for an Ives piece (including ''Central Park in the Dark''). In 1991,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
's legislature designated Ives as that state's official composer. The Scottish baritone Henry Herford began a survey of Ives's songs in 1990, but this remains incomplete. The record company involved (
Unicorn-Kanchana Unicorn-Kanchana is a British independent record label founded by John Goldsmith (died 2020), a former London police officer. Originally known as Unicorn Records, the name Kanchana was added later to distinguish the company from Unicorn Digital o ...
) collapsed. Pianist-composer and
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
professor Neely Bruce has made a life's study of Ives. To date, he has staged seven parts of a concert series devoted to the complete songs of Ives. Musicologist David Gray Porter reconstructed a piano concerto, the "Emerson" Concerto, from Ives's sketches. A recording of the work was released by
Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...
. American singer and composer
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
included Charles Ives in a list of influences that he presented in the liner notes of his debut album ''
Freak Out! ''Freak Out!'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's ...
'' (1966). Ives continues to influence contemporary composers, arrangers and musicians.
Planet Arts Records Planet Arts Records is a Grammy and ASCAP award-winning record label and arts organization. Started by Tom Bellino, they are a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 company dedicated to working with artists, educators, and cultural organizations on the develop ...
released '' Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra.'' Ives befriended and encouraged a young
Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...
. In addition, Phil Lesh, bassist of the
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
, has described Ives as one of his two musical heroes. Jazz musician
Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...
also named Charles Ives as an influence in a 1970 interview with
Swing Journal Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...
. American microtonal musician and composer
Johnny Reinhard Johnny Reinhard (born 1956) is a microtonal composer, bassoonist, author and conductor. Reinhard employs many avant-garde techniques in his bassoon performance such as glissando and multiphonics, as well as uses just intonation and other microt ...
reconstructed and performed ''Universe symphony'' in 1996. ''
The Unanswered Ives ''The Unanswered Ives'' is an hour-long documentary about the life and musical career of the American composer Charles Ives.List of prize winners for 2019 Golden Prague Film Festival Written and directed by German film maker Anne-Kathrin Peitz, ...
'' is an hour-long film documentary directed by
Anne-Kathrin Peitz Anne-Kathrin Peitz (; ; born March 5, 1972) is a German documentary screenwriter, director and producer. She primarily works on classical music-related documentaries and television specials. Education and early career Anne-Kathrin Peitz studie ...
and produced by Accentus Music (Leipzig, Germany). This was released in 2018 and shown on Swedish and German television stations; it features interviews with
Jan Swafford Jan Swafford (born September 10, 1946) is an American author and composer. He earned his Bachelor of Arts ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard College and his M.M.A. and D.M.A. from the Yale School of Music. His teachers included Earl Kim at Harvard, ...
,
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
, James Sinclair and Jack Cooper. In 1965 Ives won a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for his composition "Symphony No. 4" and the American Symphony Orchestra won for their recording of the work. Ives had previously been nominated in 1964 for "New England Holidays" and in 1960 for "Symphony # 2".
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
praised Ives. In 1966 he said: " veswas exploring the 1960's during the heyday of Strauss and Debussy. Polytonality; atonality; tone clusters; perspectivistic effects; chance; statistical composition; permutation; add-a-part, practical-joke, and improvisatory music: these were Ives’s discoveries a half-century ago as he quietly set about devouring the contemporary cake before the rest of us even found a seat at the same table."
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
expressed his admiration for Ives in "Two Statements on Ives," writing "I think that Ives's relevance increases as time goes on" and stating that "his contribution to American music was in every sense 'not only spiritual, by also concretely musical.' Nowadays everything I hear by Ives delights me." Cage recalled that during the 1930s, he was "not interested in Ives because of the inclusion in his music of aspects of American folk and popular material," but that once he began to focus on indeterminacy, he "was able to approach Ives in an entirely different... spirit." Cage noted that Ives "knew that if sound sources came from different points in space that that fact was in itself interesting. Nobody before him had thought about this..." and stated that "the freedom that he gave to a performer saying Do this or do that according to your choice is directly in line with present indeterminate music." Cage also expressed his interest in what he called the "mud of Ives," by which he meant "the part that is not referential..." from which arises a "complex superimposition flines that makes a web in which we cannot clearly perceive anything..." leading to "the possibility of not knowing what's happening..." Cage wrote that "more and more... I think this experience of non-knowledge is more useful and more important to us than the Renaissance notion of knowing A B C D E F..." Cage also praised Ives's "understanding... of inactivity and of silence..." and recalled having read an essay in which Ives "sees someone sitting on a porch in a rocking chair smoking a pipe looking out over the landscape which goes into the distance and imagines that as that person who is anyone is sitting there doing nothing that he is hearing his own symphony. This I think is for all intents and purposes the goal of music. I doubt whether we can find a higher goal namely that art and our involvement in it will somehow introduce us to the very life that we are living and that we will be able without scores without performers and so forth simply to sit still to listen to the sounds which surround us and hear them as music." (Cage refers to the essay as the one "which veswrote that follows his One Hundred and Thirteen Songs", probably referring to the "Postface to 114 Songs".) Conductor
Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist who is the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Paris Opera. Early life Dudamel was ...
and the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
won a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance for "Ives's Complete Symphonies" (Deutsche Grammaphon, recorded in 2020). There is evidence that Ives backdated his scores to sound more modern than he really was. This was first proposed by Maynard Solomon, an advocate of Ives' music This has, in turn generated some controversy and puzzlement.


Compositions

''Note: Because Ives often made several different versions of the same piece, and because his work was generally ignored during his life, it is often difficult to put exact dates on his compositions. The dates given here are sometimes best guesses. There have also been controversial speculations that he purposefully misdated his own pieces earlier or later than actually written.'' * ''
Variations on "America" ''Variations on "America"'' is a composition for organ by the American composer Charles Ives. Composition Composed in 1891 when Ives was seventeen, it is an arrangement of a traditional tune, known as "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" (words ...
'' for organ (1892) * The Circus Band (a march describing the Circus coming to town) * Psalm settings (14, 42, 54, 67, 90, 135, 150) (1890s) * String Quartet No. 1, ''From the Salvation Army'' (1897–1900) * Symphony No. 1 in D minor (1898–1901) * Symphony No. 2 (Ives gave dates of 1899–1902; analysis of handwriting and manuscript paper suggests 1907–1909). * Symphony No. 3, ''The Camp Meeting'' (1908–10) * ''
Central Park in the Dark ''Central Park in the Dark'' is a musical composition by Charles Ives for chamber orchestra. It was composed in 1906 and has been paired with '' The Unanswered Question'' as part of "Two Contemplations" and with ''Hallowe'en'' and ''The Pond'' i ...
'' for chamber orchestra (1906, 1909) * '' The Unanswered Question'' for chamber group (1908; rev. 1934) * Piano Sonata No. 1 (1909–16) * '' Emerson Concerto'' (1913–19) * The Gong on the Hook & Ladder (Firemen's Parade on Main Street) for orchestra, Kv 28 * Tone Roads for orchestra No. 1, 'All Roads Lead To the Center' KkV38 * A set of 3 Short Pieces, A, Kk W15, No 1 'Largo Cantabile – Hymn' for string quartet & double-bass * ''
Hallowe'en Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...
'' for string quartet, piano, & bass drum, Kw11 *
Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of m ...
( 1909–10, rev.  1914–15) * Violin Sonata No. 1 (1910–14; rev.  1924) * Violin Sonata No. 4, ''Children's Day at the Camp Meeting'' (1911–16) * '' A Symphony: New England Holidays'' (1904–13) * ''"Robert Browning" Overture'' (1911–14) * Symphony No. 4 (1912–18; rev. 1924–26) * String Quartet No. 2 (1913–15) * Pieces for chamber ensemble grouped as "Sets," some called ''Cartoons or Take-Offs'' or ''Songs Without Voices'' (1906–18); includes ''
Calcium Light Night ''Calcium Light Night'' is a piece of music by American composer Charles Ives. It is one of his ''Cartoons or Take-Offs'' and is scored for piccolo, clarinet, cornet, trombone, bass drum, and two pianos (four players). (Ives suggested in a ...
'' * ''
Three Places in New England The ''Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No. 1)'' is a composition for orchestra in three movements by American composer Charles Ives. It was written mainly between 1911 and 1914, but with sketches dating as far back as 1903 and last revisi ...
'' (Orchestral Set No. 1) (1910–14; rev. 1929) * Violin Sonata No. 2 (1914–17) * Violin Sonata No. 3 (1914–17) *
Orchestral Set No. 2 Orchestral Set No. 2 is the title of a three-movement work by the American composer Charles Ives. A typical performance lasts around seventeen minutes. Composed between 1915 and 1919, it represents musical reminiscences of the composer. Like its ...
(1915–19) * Piano Sonata No. 2, ''Concord, Mass., 1840–60'' (1916–19) (revised many times by Ives) * '' Universe Symphony'' (incomplete, 1915–28, worked on symphony until his death in 1954) * ''114 Songs'' (composed various years 1887–1921, published 1922.) * Three Quarter Tone Piano Pieces (1923–24) * Orchestral Set No. 3 (incomplete, 1919–26, notes added after 1934)


Politics

Ives proposed in 1920 that there be a 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would authorize citizens to submit legislative proposals to Congress. Members of Congress would then cull the proposals, selecting 10 each year as referendums for popular vote by the nation's electorate. He even had printed at his own expense several thousand copies of a pamphlet on behalf of his proposed amendment. The pamphlet proclaimed the need to curtail "THE EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH POLITICS IN OUR representative DEMOCRACY". He planned to distribute the pamphlets at the 1920 Republican National Convention, but they arrived from the printer after the convention had ended. It is stated in the biographical film ''A Good Dissonance Like a Man'' that the first of Ives's crippling heart attacks occurred as a result of a
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
era argument with a young
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
over his idea of issuing of war bonds in amounts as low as $50 each. Roosevelt was chairman of a war bonds committee on which Ives served, and he "scorned the idea of anything so useless as a $50 bond". Roosevelt changed his mind about small contributions as seen many years later when he endorsed the
March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...
to combat poliomyelitis..


See also

*
Charles Ives House The Charles Ives House, also known as Charles Ives Birthplace, is located on Mountainville Avenue in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It is a wooden frame structure built in 1780 and expanded on since. Over the course of the 19th century, it ...


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * Originally published 1948. * Peitz, Anne-Kathrin, ''
The Unanswered Ives ''The Unanswered Ives'' is an hour-long documentary about the life and musical career of the American composer Charles Ives.List of prize winners for 2019 Golden Prague Film Festival Written and directed by German film maker Anne-Kathrin Peitz, ...
'', DVD documentary Accentus Music/
Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...
/ WDR, 2018 * * * * Reviewed by


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Charles Ives's page at Theodore Presser Company
* * * * * *
The Charles Ives Society

Songs of Charles Ives
at Music of the United States of America (MUSA)
Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
Tippett rehearses ''Putnam's Camp'' (short video from 1969).
The Charles Ives Center for the Arts. Inc

Art of the States: Charles Ives
''Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos'' (1924)

Pytheas Center for Contemporary Music

at ''La Folia''
Charles Ives Papers
Yale University Music Library
Charles Ives Rare and Non-Commercial Sound Recordings collection
Yale University Music Library
Charles Ives oral histories of American Music
Oral History of American Music {{DEFAULTSORT:Ives, Charles 1874 births 1954 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians 19th-century classical composers 19th-century organists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century organists American actuaries American businesspeople in insurance American classical composers American classical organists American male classical composers American Romantic composers Classical musicians from Connecticut Composers for piano Composers for pipe organ Experimental composers Grammy Award winners Hopkins School alumni Male classical organists Microtonal composers Modernist composers People from Danbury, Connecticut Pulitzer Prize for Music winners Pupils of Horatio Parker String quartet composers Symbols of Connecticut Yale Bulldogs football players Yale University alumni