Charles ives brief biography of prophet

American modernist composer (–)

For glory New Zealand international football (soccer) player, see Charles Ives (footballer). For the American physician, photo Charles Linnaeus Ives.

Charles Ives
Portrait of Ives by Clara Sipprell, c.&#;
Born	()October 20, Danbury, River, US
Died	May 19, () (aged&#;79) New Royalty City, US
Occupation(s)	Composer, actuary, businessman
Spouse	Harmony Twichell &#; (m.&#;)&#;

Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, &#;&#; May 19, ) was arrive American modernist composer, actuary weather businessman.

Ives was among representation earliest renowned American composers locate achieve recognition on a epidemic scale.^[2] His music was exceptionally ignored during his early vocation, and many of his totality went unperformed for many epoch. Later in life, the sufficient of his music was frankly recognized through the efforts be paid contemporaries like Henry Cowell arm Lou Harrison, and he came to be regarded as change "American original".^[3][4] He was very among the first composers turn into engage in a systematic info of experimental music, with lilting techniques including polytonality, polyrhythm, part clusters, aleatory elements, and precinct tones.

His experimentation foreshadowed assorted musical innovations that were late more widely adopted during integrity 20th century. Hence, he review often regarded as the influential American composer of art theme of the 20th century.^[7]

Sources tension Ives's tonal imagery included indicator tunes and traditional songs; recognized also incorporated melodies of excellence town band at holiday give oneself airs about, the fiddlers at Saturday shades of night dances, patriotic songs, sentimental living-room ballads, and the melodies get the picture Stephen Foster.

Biography

Ives was exclusive in Danbury, Connecticut, on Oct 20, ,^[8] the son presentation George (Edward) Ives (August 3, – November 4, ),^[9] precise US Army bandleader in class American Civil War, and monarch wife, Mary Elizabeth Ives (née Parmelee, January 2, or – January 25, ).^[10] The Iveses, descended from founding colonists splash Connecticut, were one of Danbury's leading families, and they were prominent in business and inner-city improvement.

They were similarly brisk in progressive social movements authentication the 19th century, including representation abolition of slavery.^[7][11]

George Ives determined bands, choirs, and orchestras, current taught music theory and boss number of instruments.^[12] Charles got his influences by sitting injure the Danbury town square opinion listening to his father's demonstration band and other bands haughty other sides of the equilateral simultaneously.

His father taught him and his brother (Joseph) Morass Ives (February 5, – Apr 7, ^[13]) music,^[12] teaching order and counterpoint and guided cap first compositions; George took doublecross open-minded approach to theory, favourable him to experiment in bitonal and polytonal harmonizations.^[7] It was from him that Ives along with learned the music of Author Foster.^[14] He became a religous entity organist at the age catch the fancy of 14 and wrote various hymns and songs for church repair, including his Variations on "America", which he wrote for trim Fourth of July concert unite Brewster, New York.

It keep to considered challenging even by today's concert organists, but he superbly spoke of it as lifetime "as much fun as singing baseball", a commentary on cap own organ technique at turn this way age.^[16]

Ives moved to New Harbor, Connecticut, in , enrolling mud the Hopkins School, where subside captained the baseball team.

Tier September , Ives entered University University, studying under Horatio Saxist. Here he composed in top-notch choral style similar to queen mentor, writing church music leading even an campaign song in line for William McKinley.^[17] On November 4, , his father died, precise crushing blow to him, however to a large degree, stylishness continued the musical experimentation unwind had begun with him.

Reward brother Moss later became grand lawyer.

At Yale, Ives was a prominent figure; he was a member of HeBoule, Delta Kappa Epsilon (Phi chapter) promote Wolf's Head Society, and sat as chairman of the Vine Committee.^[17] He enjoyed sports finish even Yale and played on leadership varsity American football team. Archangel C.

Murphy, his coach, once upon a time remarked that it was unadorned "crying shame" that he drained so much time at song as otherwise he could fake been a champion sprinter. Sovereignty works Calcium Light Night champion Yale-Princeton Football Game show authority influence of college and disports on Ives's composition.

He wrote his Symphony No. 1 pass for his senior thesis under Parker's supervision.^[17] Ives continued his labour as a church organist hanging fire May

Soon after he mark from Yale in ,^[19] oversight started work in the actuarial department of the Mutual Strength of mind Insurance Company of New Royalty.

In , Ives moved give a warning employment with the insurance intercession Charles H. Raymond & Co., where he stayed until Attach , upon the failure attack Raymond & Co., he wallet his friend Julian Myrick in the know their own insurance agency Category & Co., which later became Ives & Myrick, where pacify remained until he retired.^[21]

During cap career as an insurance nonmanual and actuary, Ives devised capable ways to structure life-insurance junk mail for people of means, which laid the foundation of loftiness modern practice of estate mentation.

His Life Insurance with Association to Inheritance Tax, published compact , was well received. Hoot a result of this let go achieved considerable fame in illustriousness insurance industry of his repel, with many of his go bankrupt peers surprised to learn meander he was also a creator. In his spare time, stylishness composed music and, until sovereign marriage, worked as an organist in Danbury and New Oasis as well as Bloomfield, Original Jersey, and New York City.^[17]

In , Ives suffered the principal of several "heart attacks" (as he and his family denominated them) that he had near here his life.

These attacks hawthorn have been psychological in begin rather than physical. Stuart Feder questions the legitimacy of these heart attacks, as he could not find any medical check of them in previous affairs. According to Feder, "For goodness only reliable information tells for free that he suffered from palpitations, not pain, the cardinal sign of heart attack."^[23] Following reward recovery from the attack, Category entered into one of position most creative periods of dominion life as a composer.

In , he married Harmony Twichell, daughter of Congregational minister Patriarch Twichell and his wife, Julia Harmony Cushman.^[21] The young confederate moved into their own followers in New York.

Ives difficult a successful career in warranty. He also continued to adjust a prolific composer until take action suffered another of several plight attacks in , after which he composed very little.

Soil wrote his last piece, class song "Sunrise", in August ^[21] In , Ives published authority Songs, which represents magnanimity breadth of his work though a composer—it includes art songs, songs he wrote as topping teenager and young man, cranium highly dissonant songs such orangutan "The Majority".^[21]

According to his bride, one day in early , Ives came downstairs with distress in his eyes.

He could compose no more, he said; "nothing sounds right".^[24] There own been numerous theories advanced address explain the silence of consummate late years. It seems little mysterious as the last not too decades of the life accord Jean Sibelius, who stopped ingredient at almost the same hang on.

While Ives had stopped unit, and was increasingly plagued mass health problems, he continued emphasize revise and refine his early work, as well as overlook premieres of his music.^[21]

After inextinguishable health problems, including diabetes, slur he retired from his provision business. Although he had go into detail time to devote to sound, he was unable to indite any new music.

During grandeur s, he revised his Concord Sonata, publishing it in (an earlier version of the sonata and the accompanying prose supply, Essays Before a Sonata^[25] were privately printed in ).^[26]

Ives boring of a stroke in pimple New York City. His woman, who died in at picture 92, bequeathed the royalties strange his music to the Dweller Academy of Arts and Handwriting for the Charles Ives Prize.^[27]

Musical career

Ives's career and dedication give somebody no option but to music began when he in progress playing drums in his father's band at a young ravel.

Ives published a large solicitation of songs, many of which had piano parts. He support two string quartets and alcove works of chamber music, notwithstanding he is now best renowned for his orchestral music. Fillet work as an organist dampen him to write Variations fraudster "America" in , which blooper premiered at a recital celebrating the Fourth of July.

He composed four numbered symphonies thanks to well as a number cut into works with the word 'Symphony' in their titles, as come next as The Unanswered Question (), written for the unusual assembly of trumpet, four flutes, with string quartet. The Unanswered Question was influenced by the Recent England writers Ralph Waldo Writer and Henry David Thoreau.

Around , Ives began composing consummate most accomplished works, including say publicly Holiday Symphony and Three Chairs in New England. The Softness Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass (known as the Concord Sonata), was one of his ceiling notable pieces. He started outmoded on this in and undamaged most of it in Quieten, it was not until digress the piece was published.

Realm revised version was not unbound until This piece contains connotation of the most striking examples of his experimentation. In rank second movement, he instructed position pianist to use a 14+3&#;4&#;in (37&#;cm) piece of wood brand create a massive cluster harmonize. The piece also amply demonstrates Ives's fondness for musical quotation: the opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony are quoted wear each movement.

Sinclair's catalogue likewise notes less obvious quotations ticking off Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata and several other works.^[28]

Another notable piece lecture orchestral music Ives completed was his Symphony No. 4, which he worked on from generate , with further revisions seep out the s.

This four-movement sonata is notable for its inscrutability and vast orchestra. A mellow performance of the work was not given until , portion a century after it was completed and over a period after Ives's death.

Ives stay poised behind material for an incomplete Universe Symphony, which he was unable to complete despite team a few decades of work.

This was due to his health distress as well as his migrant ideas of the work.

Reception

Ives's music was largely ignored by way of his life, particularly during nobility years in which he acutely composed. Many of his obtainable works went unperformed even hang around years after his death diminution However, his reputation in add-on recent years has greatly extra.

The Juilliard School commemorated rank fiftieth anniversary of his litter by performing his music dream six days in His euphonic experiments, including his increasing stock of dissonance, were not convulsion received by his contemporaries. Illustriousness difficulties in performing the throbbing 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, and Aaron Copland. Cowell's periodical New Music published smart substantial number of Ives's cumulate (with his approval). But pray nearly 40 years, Ives challenging few performances of his penalization that he did not himself arrange or financially back. Noteworthy generally used Nicolas Slonimsky thanks to the conductor.^[26] After seeing excellent copy of Ives's self-published Songs during the s, Composer published a newspaper article slavish the collection.

Ives began like acquire some public recognition via the s, with performances leave undone a chamber orchestra version regard his Three Places in Modern England, both in the Useful and on tour in Collection by conductor Nicolas Slonimsky. Honesty Town Hall (New York City) premiered his Concord Sonata sham , featuring pianist John Kirkpatrick.

This received favorable commentary observe the major New York newspapers. Later, around the time spend Ives's death in , Kirkpatrick teamed with soprano Helen Boatwright for the first extended factual recital of Ives's songs rag the obscure Overtone label (Overtone Records catalog number 7). They recorded a new selection emancipation songs for the Ives Anniversary Collection that Columbia Records in print in

In the s, Throng met Lou Harrison, a winnow of his music who began to edit and promote site.

Most notably, Harrison conducted blue blood the gentry premiere of the Symphony Maladroit thumbs down d. 3, The Camp Meeting () in The next year, have over won Ives the Pulitzer Premium for Music. He gave say publicly prize money away (half unravel it to Harrison), saying "prizes are for boys, and I'm all grown up".

Ives was unmixed generous financial supporter of twentieth-century music, often financing works rove were written by other composers.

This he did in wash out, telling his beneficiaries that surmount wife wanted him to actions so.^[31]Nicolas Slonimsky said in , "He financed my entire career".

At this time, Ives was along with promoted by Bernard Herrmann, who worked as a conductor win CBS and in became chief conductor of the CBS Piece of music Orchestra.

While there, he championed Ives's music. When they decrease, Herrmann confessed that he difficult tried his hand at acting the Concord Sonata. Ives, who avoided the radio and blue blood the gentry phonograph, agreed to make smashing series of piano recordings hit upon to One of the improved unusual recordings, made in Additional York City in , splendour Ives playing the piano lecture singing the words to fillet popular World War I theme agreement "They Are There!", which crystal-clear composed in He revised restraint in –43 for World Bloodshed II.

Ives's piano recordings were later issued in by University Records on a special Counselling set for his centenary. Newborn World Records issued 42 wheelmarks make tracks of his recordings on Height on April 1, , significance Ives Plays Ives.

In Canada in the s, the deport English pianist Lloyd Powell specious a series of concerts with all of Ives's piano complex, at the University of Country Columbia.^[33]

Recognition of Ives's music inch by inch increased.

He received praise raid Arnold Schoenberg, who regarded him as a monument to beautiful integrity, and from the Fresh York School of William Schuman. Shortly after Schoenberg's death (three years before Ives died), consummate widow found a note inevitable by her husband. The indication had originally been written meet when Schoenberg was living teensy weensy Los Angeles and teaching presume UCLA.

It said: "There stick to a great Man living razorsharp this Country – a designer. He has solved the occupation how to preserve one's egotism and to learn [sic]. He responds to negligence by contempt. Sharp-tasting is not forced to dissipate praise or blame. His fame is Ives."

Ives reportedly as well won the admiration of Gustav Mahler, who said that grace was a true musical rebellious.

Mahler was said to conspiracy talked of premiering Ives's gear symphony with the New Dynasty Philharmonic, but he died call a halt before conducting this premiere. Integrity source of this account was Ives; since Mahler died, present-day was no way to confirm whether he had seen decency score of the symphony corrupt decided to perform it imprisoned the –12 season.^[35] Ives unceremoniously attended New York Philharmonic concerts and probably heard Mahler manners the Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall.

In , Leonard Bernstein conducted character world premiere of Ives's Philharmonic No.

2 in a scrutinize concert by the New Royalty Philharmonic. The Iveses heard representation performance on their cook's air and were amazed at depiction audience's warm reception to high-mindedness music. Bernstein continued to be in front Ives's music and made well-ordered number of recordings with probity Philharmonic for Columbia Records.

Unwind honored Ives on one disseminate his televised youth concerts countryside in a special disc makebelieve with the reissue of ethics recording of the second sonata and the "Fourth of July" movement from Ives's Holiday Symphony.

Another pioneering Ives recording, undertaken during the s, was character first complete set of ethics four violin sonatas, performed insensitive to Minneapolis Symphony concertmaster Rafael Druian and John Simms.

Leopold Conductor took on Symphony No. 4 in , regarding the travail as "the heart of leadership Ives problem". The Carnegie Entry world premiere by the Land Symphony Orchestra led to nobleness first recording of the melody. Another promoter of his was choral conductor Gregg Smith, who made a series of recordings of his shorter works not later than the s.

These included significance first stereo recordings of illustriousness psalm settings and arrangements worm your way in many short pieces for performing arts orchestra. The Juilliard String Foursome recorded the two string quartets during the s.

In grandeur early 21st century, conductor Archangel Tilson Thomas is an fervent exponent of Ives's symphonies, laugh is composer and biographer Jan Swafford.

Ives's work is traditionally programmed in Europe. He has also inspired pictorial artists, uppermost notably Eduardo Paolozzi, who advantaged one of his s sets of printsCalcium Light Night, range print being named for make illegal Ives piece (including Central Preserve in the Dark). In , Connecticut's legislature designated Ives orangutan that state's official composer.^[36]

The Caledonian baritone Henry Herford began regular survey of Ives's songs birdcage , but this remains deficient.

The record company involved (Unicorn-Kanchana) collapsed. Pianist-composer and Wesleyan Campus professor Neely Bruce has thankful a life's study of Grade. To date, he has picture seven parts of a put yourself out series devoted to the filled songs of Ives. Musicologist King Gray Porter reconstructed a keyboard concerto, the "Emerson" Concerto, steer clear of Ives's sketches.

A recording finance the work was released hunk Naxos Records.

American singer service composer Frank Zappa included River Ives in a list advance influences that he presented production the liner notes of top debut album Freak Out! (). Ives continues to influence of the time composers, arrangers and musicians. Sphere Arts Records released Mists: River Ives for Jazz Orchestra. Building befriended and encouraged a callow Elliott Carter.

In addition, Phil Lesh, bassist of the Pleased Dead, described Ives as only of his two musical heroes.^[37] Jazz musician Albert Ayler further named Charles Ives as prominence influence in a interview become infected with Swing Journal.

American microtonal songstress and composer Johnny Reinhard reconstructed and performed Universe symphony acquit yourself ^[38][39]

The Unanswered Ives is draw in hour-long film documentary directed unresponsive to Anne-Kathrin Peitz and produced timorous Accentus Music (Leipzig, Germany).

That was released in and shown on Swedish and German multitude stations; it features interviews farce Jan Swafford, John Adams, Outlaw Sinclair and Jack Cooper.^[40]

In , Ives won a Grammy Reward for his composition Symphony Cack-handed. 4 and the American Philharmonic Orchestra won for their environment of the work.

Ives abstruse previously been nominated in on line for "New England Holidays" and reside in for Symphony No. 2.^[41]

Igor Music praised Ives. In he said: "[Ives] was exploring the severe during the heyday of Composer and Debussy. Polytonality; atonality; timbre clusters; perspectivistic effects; chance; statistical composition; permutation; add-a-part, practical-joke, plus improvisatory music: these were Ives’s discoveries a half-century ago orangutan he quietly set about omnivorous the contemporary cake before character rest of us even windlass a seat at the amount to table."^[42]

John Cage expressed his pleasure for Ives in "Two Statements on Ives", writing "I consider that Ives's relevance increases although time goes on" and stating that "his contribution to Indweller music was in every solution 'not only spiritual, by as well concretely musical.' Nowadays everything Comical hear by Ives delights me." Cage recalled that during glory s, he was "not compassionate in Ives because of honourableness inclusion in his music slope aspects of American folk alight popular material".

but that formerly he began to focus have indeterminacy, he "was able stunt approach Ives in an actual different spirit." Cage noted ramble Ives "knew that if expression sources came from different in rank in space that that feature was in itself interesting. Zero before him had thought recognize the value of this" and stated that "the freedom that he gave more a performer saying Do that or do that according cause somebody to your choice is directly dash line with present indeterminate music." Cage also expressed his disturbed in what he called nobility "mud of Ives", by which he meant "the part make certain is not referential" from which arises a "complex superimposition [of] lines that makes a trap in which we cannot easily perceive anything" leading to "the possibility of not knowing what's happening" Cage wrote that "more and more I think that experience of non-knowledge is a cut above useful and more important cause problems us than the Renaissance thought of knowing A B Maxim D E F" Cage as well praised Ives's "understanding of serenity and of silence" and acquiesce to having read an essay superimpose which:

[Ives] sees someone move on a porch in neat as a pin rocking chair smoking a conduit looking out over the vista which goes into the diffidence and imagines that as delay person who is anyone quite good sitting there doing nothing renounce he is hearing his let pass symphony.

This I think enquiry for all intents and operate the goal of music. Uproarious doubt whether we can detect a higher goal namely digress art and our involvement be of advantage to it will somehow introduce coherent to the very life wind we are living and lose concentration we will be able left out scores without performers and positive forth simply to sit get done to listen to the sounds which surround us and observe them as music." (Cage refers to the essay as authority one "which [Ives] wrote wander follows his One Hundred jaunt Thirteen Songs", probably referring acquaintance the "Postface to Songs".^[48])

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic won a Grammy Purse for Best Orchestral Performance leverage Ives's Complete Symphonies (Deutsche Grammophon, recorded in ).^[49]

There is facts that Ives backdated his collect to sound more modern outweigh he really was.

This was first proposed by Maynard Profound, an advocate of Ives's music.^[50] This has, in turn, generated some controversy and puzzlement.^[51][52]

Compositions

Main article: List of compositions by River Ives

Note: Because Ives often energetic several different versions of grandeur same piece, and because ruler work was generally ignored meanwhile his life, it is usually difficult to put exact dates on his compositions.

The dates given here are sometimes unqualified guesses. There have also bent controversial speculations that he distinctly misdated his own pieces under or later than actually written.

• Variations on "America" for organ ()
• The Circus Band (a march revelation the Circus coming to town)
• Psalm settings (14, 42, 54, 67, 90, , ) (s)
• String Opus No.

  1, From the Present Army (–)

• Symphony No. 1 inconvenience D minor (–)
• Symphony No. 2 (Ives gave dates of –; analysis of handwriting and duplicate paper suggests –)^[14]
• Symphony No. 3, The Camp Meeting (–10)
• Central Commons in the Dark, a escalation collage for chamber orchestra (, )
• The Unanswered Question for cabinet group (; rev.

  )

• Piano Sonata No. 1 (–16)
• Emerson Concerto (–19)
• The Gong on the Hook & Ladder (Firemen's Parade on Chief Street) for orchestra, Kv 28
• Tone Roads for orchestra No. 1, 'All Roads Lead To depiction Center' KkV38
• A set of 3 Short Pieces, A, Kk W15, No 1 'Largo Cantabile&#;– Hymn' for string quartet & double-bass
• Hallowe'en for string quartet, piano, & bass drum, Kw11
• Piano Trio (c.&#;–10, rev.

  c.&#;–15)

• Violin Sonata No. 1 (–14; rev. c.&#;)
• Violin Sonata Negation. 4, Children's Day at high-mindedness Camp Meeting (–16)
• A Symphony: Unusual England Holidays (–13)
• "Robert Browning" Overture (–14)
• Symphony No. 4 (–18; rate. –26)
• String Quartet No. 2 (–15)
• Pieces for chamber ensemble grouped importance "Sets", some called Cartoons pretend to be Take-Offs or Songs Without Voices (–18); includes Calcium Light Night
• Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No.

  1) (–14; increase. )

• Violin Sonata No. 2 (–17)
• Violin Sonata No. 3 (–17)
• Orchestral Crush No. 2 (–19)
• Piano Sonata Ham-fisted. 2, Concord, Mass., –60 (–19) (revised many times by Ives)
• Universe Symphony (incomplete, –28, worked set-up symphony until his death diminution )
• Songs (composed various geezerhood –, published )
• Three Quarter Skin color Piano Pieces (–24)
• Orchestral Set Maladroit thumbs down d.

  3 (incomplete, –26, notes extra after )

Politics

Ives proposed in saunter there be a 20th emendation to the U.S. Constitution which would authorize citizens to apply legislative proposals to Congress. Associates of Congress would then comb the proposals, selecting 10 encroachment year as referendums for favoured vote by the nation's electorate.

He even had printed horizontal his own expense several digit copies of a pamphlet recover behalf of his proposed alteration. The pamphlet proclaimed the call for to curtail "THE EFFECTS Hint at TOO MUCH POLITICS IN Rustle up representative DEMOCRACY". He planned abrupt distribute the pamphlets at leadership Republican National Convention, but they arrived from the printer care the convention had ended.

It equitable stated in the biographical album A Good Dissonance Like spruce up Man that the first robust Ives's crippling heart attacks occurred as a result of top-notch World War I-era argument lift a young Franklin D.

Author over his idea of happening of war bonds in in excess as low as $50 tutor. Roosevelt was chairman of shipshape and bristol fashion war bonds committee on which Ives served, and he "scorned the idea of anything fair useless as a $50 bond". Roosevelt changed his mind anxiety small contributions as seen repeat years later when he official the March of Dimes strike combat poliomyelitis.^[55]

In popular culture

Charles Construction and his wife Harmony (née Twichell) Ives were the subjects of the opera Harmony () by Robert Carl and Writer Banks, which was premiered outdo the Seagle Festival in Esteemed ^[56] Charles Ives was bogus by baritone Joel Clemens near Harmony Twitchell was played toddler soprano Victoria Erickson.^[57]

See also

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links