''The Unanswered Ives'' is an hour-long documentary about the life and musical career of the American composer

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist 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 f ...

.List of prize winners for 2019 Golden Prague Film Festival Written and directed by German film maker

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 ...

, the documentary features Ives' early years in

Danbury, CT 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 ...

, his musical relationship with his father, education at

Yale 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 wor ...

and later career as insurance executive and composer. The documentary was commissioned by and produced for

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 ...

and

WDR television WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalling ...

for broadcast and later distributed as part of a double DVD set. Notably, the production received the Czech Crystal – “Documentary Programmes Dedicated to Music, Dance and Theatre” at the Golden Prague International Television Festival.

Background

After numerous successful collaborations on music documentaries between

Accentus Music Accentus Music is a German classical music record label and production company founded in March 2010 in Leipzig, Germany, where the company is based. The label produces audio recordings ( CD) and video (DVD/Blu-ray). History Based in Leipzig, ...

, WDR (

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

) and

T.V., an agreement was signed in 2017 to complete a definitive documentary on American composer

. The idea was generated by award-winning film director

and backed by

owner Paul Smaczny. In January 2018 the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung awarded Accentus Music €140,000 to proceed with the production of the documentary.

Production and documentary

Most of the Peitz' on-location cinematography in the New England region was completed in late spring of 2018. Part of the exterior filming was hampered by four tornadoes on May 15, 2018. Live filming was completed on June 1, 2018 in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent ...

at the Hochschule der populären Künste recording studio. Editing and final credits were completed at the end of September 2018 in

Leipzig, Germany Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's L ...

.End credits, ''The Unanswered Ives'', Accentus Music Post-production color processing was completed at Trickkiste Studios.

Premieres, presentations and distribution

The first showing of ''The Unanswered Ives'' was on the campus of the

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

on October 13, 2018. This was in conjunction the North Carolina Repertory Jazz Orchestra concert playing the music of the '' Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra'' album. The documentary received its first European preview on April 9, 2019 in

Mannheim, Germany Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

at the

Popakademie Baden-Württemberg The Popakademie Baden-Württemberg ''(University of Popular Music And Music Business)'' is a German public conservatory for popular music based in Mannheim, Germany. Established in 2003 by the state of Baden-Württemberg, it was the first institu ...

during the 15th edition of the International Forum for Music, ‘’The Look of Sound’’.

Television’s official premiere and initial broadcast of ''The Unanswered Ives'' documentary was through the ARD network on Saturday, September 22, 2019 (11:20 p.m. – 12:15 a.m. programming slot,

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast Ente ...

) and was re-broadcast on Sunday, September 29 at 9:20 a.m. The classical and archival music station SWR2 in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

broadcast an extensive 6 minute segment on the

Südwestrundfunk Südwestrundfunk (SWR; ''Southwest Broadcasting'') is a regional public broadcasting corporation serving the southwest of Germany , specifically the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The corporation has main offices ...

''Meeting Point Classic'' show about the combined DVD: Universe, Incomplete/The Unanswered Ives. Other European and Middle Eastern film festivals ''The Unanswered Ives'' was presented on include the Projection Music’Arte and the Golden Prague International Film Festival where it received the Czech Crystal – “Documentary Programmes Dedicated to Music, Dance and Theatre”.IMZ, FIFTH GOLDEN PRAGUE AWARD FOR ACCENTUS MUSIC, Czech Crystal for its documentary “The Unanswered Ives”
/ref> The documentary was entered into and shown at 5th Beirut Art Film Festival (BAFF) in Lebanon, held at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

. The film was shown on December 11, 2020. The DVD of ''The Unanswered Ives'' was released by

for purchase in November 2019 as part of a two DVD set, ''Charles Ives – UNIVERSE, INCOMPLETE//THE UNANSWERED IVES''. The first DVD, UNIVERSE, INCOMPLETE, is a live production directed by

Christoph Marthaler Christoph Marthaler (born 17 October 1951, in Erlenbach, Switzerland) is a Swiss director and musician, working in the style of avant-garde theater, such as Expressionism and Dada, a theater of the absurd elements. In 1998, he was awarded the IV ...

, music conducted by Titus Engel with stage design by Anna Viebrock. They developed a highly individual take on Ives' unfinished project: the '' Universe Symphony''. The second CD is

production: ''The Unanswered Ives''.

Critical reception and professional ratings

"''The small-town environment of (Ives) childhood and youth are well-conjured up though (sic) and there’s an impressive roll-call of experts, who don’t outstay their welcome. The interwoven performances are straightforwardly presented''" Martin Cotton,

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...

"''...A solid Ives documentary completes this outstanding publication...''" Juan Martin Kock, Neue Musikzeitung (translated) "''...The Unanswered Ives...give in brief sketches a friendly but not exaggerated look at this enfant terrible of the US American music scene.''" Uwe Krusch,

Pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as "pinched", and sometimes roughly as "plucked") is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument : * On bowed ...

(translated)Krusch, Uwe. Pizzicato Reviews, The paradoxical composer: Charles Ives in sound and image. Saturday, 18 July 2020
/ref>

References

External links

''The Unanswered Ives'' at Accentus Music

''Universe, Incomplete - The Unanswered Ives'' at Accentus Music
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unanswered Ives, The German documentary television films German television films Documentary films about classical music and musicians 2018 documentary films 2018 films 2018 television films 2010s German films Das Erste original programming