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Charles Ives

32K views 154 replies 56 participants last post by  Sid James 
#1 ·
You all knew somebody was going to put this one up...

He was the composer who foretold musical events before they happened: quarter-tones, polytonality, multiple time- and key-signatures at the same time, tone clusters... all before any Schoenbergs or Bartoks or those guys ever so much as thought of their innovations.

But then again, the guy was ignored basically until all the aforementioned "innovations" were made, thus the (unjustified) confusion over who really thought them all up FIRST.
 
#36 ·
Another artist who worked for an insurance company was the poet Wallace Stevens, who was executive VP of the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, which paid him very well.
 
#8 ·
It's a shame about Ives being totally obscure during his lifetime, but then again so was Arnold Bax and we all know what an amazing composer he was.

I own several recordings by Ives. One of with Bernstein and the others with Michael Tilson Thomas and various orchestras like Chicago Symphony and Concertgebouw Orch. Amsterdam.

I love his work and really admire what he did and just how creative those pieces he wrote are. Very underrated composer in every sense.
 
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#10 ·
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:confused:
 
#11 ·
I've just become reacquainted with Ives after a long time. Yesterday I borrowed the Naxos disc of his Three Orchestral Sets from the library. It's really interesting music, very individual. Just what I've come to expect from the composers in that circle in New York during the 1920's which Ives was part of - it included Varese, Cowell & Carter.

There is something very dark about some of the music on this disc. The music seems to suggest night in the outdoors to me, with people sitting around a campfire in the bush. The orchestration reminds me more of operatic than orchestral composers, particularly Puccini's Turandot & Berg's operas. It is very luscious in some places, and he doesn't lock you in with a melody or a particular rhythm. It's quite free, really, like the music of those other composers. Hard to believe that it was written in the 1910's & '20's. There's also something dramatic about this music, particularly in the way marching band themes sometimes interrupt the proceedings. I've come to the conclusion that I must buy this disc at some stage, I have enjoyed it so much!
 
#12 ·
Yesterday on the radio I heard Ives' First Symphony, which I hadn't listened to for a long time.
I was reminded of all the things I like about Ives: his unusually piquant harmonies and quirky melodies above all.

Ives' First is a wonderful symphony, as are his Second and Third.

One of the interesting things about Ives is his unique space-time: turn-of-the-century Connecticut.
That space-time was special and never to be repeated.
(Of course, that could be said of all space-times, but we prioritize everything, don't we?)
 
#14 ·
I really like his "From the Salvation Army" quartet, lyricism enough. The second one is more complex , Ives described the piece “Four men--converse, discuss, argue--fight, shake hands, shut up--then walk up the mountainside to view the firmament.”

I also learn that the violist from Concord String quartet is also in Blair SQ. I have both of their recording playing Ives.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Norman Lebrecht has published a blog post that the house that Charles Ives built in 1912 in Connecticut and lived in until his death in 1954 is up for sale and slated for demolition. Curiously, even though the Ives family has occupied the house since, Lebrecht reports that in a tour, many Ives artifacts have been left untouched since his death.

Ives's composing desk.

*edit*
related link.
The reality is that artists' legacies are preserved mainly if they arrange for it themselves and have the money to finance it, or if they have champions after they die. The latter mainly means that in one way or another, people can make a living on your legacy.
sad.

*edit*
http://www.facebook.com/SaveTheCharlesIvesHouse
newly opened campaign to save the house.
 
#19 ·
If anybody needs info or recommendations on Ives discs, don't hesitate to ask. He is one of my favorite composers and I own a boatload of Ives discs - I'd say easily over 50, maybe closer to 60. A genius way ahead of his time, even to this day, that didn't belong to any "school".



Here is some Ives most likely you have never heard. It is from his Set No. 6 - "From the Side Hill", and is in 4 short movements.

Another gem is Psalm 90, one of his greatest creations:

 
#23 · (Edited)
Recently picked up the symphonies conducted by Mehta, I was quite happy with the interpretations, except the very ending of the first in which I can barely hear the timpani. I'm not sure how the dynamics are marked in the score but in the ending of Ives first I love the timpani/percussion played very loudly like in this interpretation: (the part I'm referring to is the very ending from about 36:50 to the end of the symphony).



^^^^Now that is a truly stunning conclusion to a great symphony, hats off to you Platonov.
 
#32 ·
A thread could be started on funny and foolish announcer pronunciation. There is no excuse for it; there are a handful of books specifically designed for DJs to help them with composer names. I once heard Janacek spoken on air: Jane - a - sek.
 
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#26 · (Edited)
For the short pieces, get the one conducted by Gunther Schuller. Berstein is on the same disc; it has fireworks on the cover (Sony).

For Three Places, get Tilson Thomas/Boston SO on DG. Also, get Tilson-Thomas' Holidays Symphony.

Get all of Bernstein with NYP (Sony).

For the two String Quartets, get Julliard SQ on Newton.

For Songs, get the Albany series on 4 CDs.

For Concord Sonata, get Bojan Gorisek (Audiophile Classics), and Marc Hamelin (Hyperion).

For Sonatas for Violin & Piano, get Paul Zukofsky and Gilbert Kalish on Folkways (caution: these are two CD-Rs).

Get Ives Plays Ives. Check out his vocal on "They Are There!" Ha haaa...
 
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#27 ·
I've only one word for those developers who would demolish the old Ives home without taking into account its cultural significance:

SH*TKICKERS!

:mad:
 
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#30 ·
His father George made a profound impact on Charlie, he was the one marching opposing bands passing by each other in Danbury. Ives took from both his father George and learned the tools of the trade with Horatio Parker at Yale, who stifled his true original voice/creativity. His graduating composition is his first symphony, absolutely LOVELY if you have never heard it.
 
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