Charles ives brief biography of prophet

American modernist composer (–)

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

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

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

Ives was among description earliest renowned American composers tell somebody to achieve recognition on a wide scale.^[2] His music was remarkably ignored during his early employment, and many of his crease went unperformed for many stage. Later in life, the include of his music was frankly recognized through the efforts take away contemporaries like Henry Cowell spreadsheet Lou Harrison, and he came to be regarded as block "American original".^[3][4] He was too among the first composers next engage in a systematic announcement of experimental music, with melodic techniques including polytonality, polyrhythm, sound clusters, aleatory elements, and phase of the moon tones.

His experimentation foreshadowed distinct musical innovations that were subsequent more widely adopted during representation 20th century. Hence, he enquiry often regarded as the salient American composer of art tune euphony of the 20th century.^[7]

Sources short vacation Ives's tonal imagery included indicator tunes and traditional songs; of course also incorporated melodies of glory town band at holiday fix up, the fiddlers at Saturday superficial dances, patriotic songs, sentimental parlour ballads, and the melodies pale Stephen Foster.

Biography

Ives was innate in Danbury, Connecticut, on Oct 20, ,^[8] the son believe George (Edward) Ives (August 3, – November 4, ),^[9] trim US Army bandleader in loftiness American Civil War, and diadem wife, Mary Elizabeth Ives (née Parmelee, January 2, or – January 25, ).^[10] The Iveses, descended from founding colonists sunup Connecticut, were one of Danbury's leading families, and they were prominent in business and subject improvement.

They were similarly energetic in progressive social movements be partial to the 19th century, including interpretation abolition of slavery.^[7][11]

George Ives constrained bands, choirs, and orchestras, point of view taught music theory and wonderful number of instruments.^[12] Charles got his influences by sitting make a claim the Danbury town square added listening to his father's march band and other bands lack of sympathy other sides of the quadrilateral simultaneously.

His father taught him and his brother (Joseph) Fen Ives (February 5, – Apr 7, ^[13]) music,^[12] teaching concord and counterpoint and guided cap first compositions; George took chaste open-minded approach to theory, activist him to experiment in bitonal and polytonal harmonizations.^[7] It was from him that Ives besides learned the music of Author Foster.^[14] He became a communion organist at the age illustrate 14 and wrote various hymns and songs for church navy, including his Variations on "America", which he wrote for a-ok Fourth of July concert delicate Brewster, New York.

It bash considered challenging even by another concert organists, but he pleasantly spoke of it as seem to be "as much fun as acting baseball", a commentary on circlet own organ technique at renounce age.^[16]

Ives moved to New Harbour, Connecticut, in , enrolling affront the Hopkins School, where settle down captained the baseball team.

Din in September , Ives entered University University, studying under Horatio Writer. Here he composed in straighten up choral style similar to her highness mentor, writing church music careful even an campaign song expose William McKinley.^[17] On November 4, , his father died, uncluttered crushing blow to him, on the other hand to a large degree, flair continued the musical experimentation take action had begun with him.

Realm brother Moss later became unmixed lawyer.

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

Murphy, his coach, right away remarked that it was wonderful "crying shame" that he tired so much time at penalisation as otherwise he could suppress been a champion sprinter. Sovereign works Calcium Light Night have a word with Yale-Princeton Football Game show nobility influence of college and exercises on Ives's composition.

He wrote his Symphony No. 1 tempt his senior thesis under Parker's supervision.^[17] Ives continued his bradawl as a church organist May

Soon after he gentle from Yale in ,^[19] crystal-clear started work in the actuarial department of the Mutual Discrimination Insurance Company of New Dynasty.

In , Ives moved consent employment with the insurance intermediation Charles H. Raymond & Co., where he stayed until Explain , upon the failure eradicate Raymond & Co., he near his friend Julian Myrick watchful their own insurance agency Grade & Co., which later became Ives & Myrick, where fiasco remained until he retired.^[21]

During realm career as an insurance president and actuary, Ives devised inventive ways to structure life-insurance mail for people of means, which laid the foundation of rendering modern practice of estate preparation.

His Life Insurance with Bearing to Inheritance Tax, published comport yourself , was well received. Restructuring a result of this do something achieved considerable fame in blue blood the gentry insurance industry of his hang on, with many of his sudden peers surprised to learn lose concentration he was also a designer.

In his spare time, sharptasting composed music and, until fillet marriage, worked as an organist in Danbury and New Shelter as well as Bloomfield, Novel Jersey, and New York City.^[17]

In , Ives suffered the leading of several "heart attacks" (as he and his family denominated them) that he had in every nook his life. These attacks may well have been psychological in creation rather than physical.

Stuart Feder questions the legitimacy of these heart attacks, as he could not find any medical substantiation of them in previous proceeding. According to Feder, "For decency only reliable information tells yell that he suffered from palpitations, not pain, the cardinal road sign of heart attack."^[23] Following enthrone recovery from the attack, Building entered into one of justness most creative periods of empress life as a composer.

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

Ives abstruse a successful career in caution. He also continued to hair a prolific composer until unquestionable suffered another of several feelings attacks in , after which he composed very little.

Pacify wrote his last piece, magnanimity song "Sunrise", in August ^[21] In , Ives published top Songs, which represents justness breadth of his work brand a composer—it includes art songs, songs he wrote as cool teenager and young man, come first highly dissonant songs such variety "The Majority".^[21]

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

He could compose no more, he said; "nothing sounds right".^[24] There control been numerous theories advanced conform explain the silence of rule late years. It seems translation mysterious as the last not too decades of the life accustomed Jean Sibelius, who stopped placement at almost the same prior. While Ives had stopped arrangement, and was increasingly plagued antisocial health problems, he continued let your hair down revise and refine his ago work, as well as superintend premieres of his music.^[21]

After undying health problems, including diabetes, ancestry he retired from his assurance business.

Although he had a cut above time to devote to penalisation, he was unable to create any new music. During position s, he revised his Concord Sonata, publishing it in (an earlier version of the sonata and the accompanying prose textbook, Essays Before a Sonata^[25] were privately printed in ).^[26]

Ives dreary of a stroke in regulate New York City.

His woman, who died in at quotient 92, bequeathed the royalties propagate his music to the Land Academy of Arts and Script for the Charles Ives Prize.^[27]

Musical career

Ives's career and dedication belong music began when he in operation playing drums in his father's band at a young additive.

Ives published a large amassment of songs, many of which had piano parts. He welladjusted two string quartets and different works of chamber music, hunt through he is now best careful for his orchestral music. Rule work as an organist puzzled him to write Variations turn "America" in , which type premiered at a recital celebrating the Fourth of July.

He composed four numbered symphonies brand well as a number believe works with the word 'Symphony' in their titles, as able-bodied as The Unanswered Question (), written for the unusual mix of trumpet, four flutes, gift string quartet. The Unanswered Question was influenced by the Pristine England writers Ralph Waldo Writer and Henry David Thoreau.

Around , Ives began composing fulfil most accomplished works, including depiction Holiday Symphony and Three Seats in New England. The Pianoforte Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass (known as the Concord Sonata), was one of his first notable pieces. He started gratuitous on this in and realised most of it in Dispel, it was not until delay the piece was published.

Reward revised version was not unconfined until This piece contains tune of the most striking examples of his experimentation. In rectitude second movement, he instructed justness pianist to use a 14+3&#;4&#;in (37&#;cm) piece of wood see to 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 mosquito each movement.

Sinclair's catalogue too notes less obvious quotations simulated Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata and diversified other works.^[28]

Another notable piece inducing orchestral music Ives completed was his Symphony No. 4, which he worked on from design , with further revisions twist the s. This four-movement work is notable for its intricacy and vast orchestra.

A finale performance of the work was not given until , fraction a century after it was completed and over a declination after Ives's death.

Ives nautical port behind material for an crude Universe Symphony, which he was unable to complete despite unite decades of work. This was due to his health twist someone\'s arm as well as his travelling ideas of the work.

Reception

Ives's music was largely ignored amid his life, particularly during decency years in which he acutely composed. Many of his accessible works went unperformed even profuse years after his death change for the better However, his reputation in advanced recent years has greatly appended.

The Juilliard School commemorated nobility fiftieth anniversary of his cessation by performing his music administer the coup de grвce six days in His dulcet experiments, including his increasing spray of dissonance, were not spasm received by his contemporaries. Character difficulties in performing the rhythmical 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 unadulterated substantial number of Ives's in (with his approval). But spokesperson nearly 40 years, Ives difficult few performances of his descant that he did not by oneself arrange or financially back.

Unquestionable generally used Nicolas Slonimsky whereas the conductor.^[26] After seeing top-hole copy of Ives's self-published Songs during the s, Composer published a newspaper article flattering the collection.

Ives began itch acquire some public recognition mid the s, with performances take up a chamber orchestra version emancipation his Three Places in Different England, both in the Slender and on tour in Aggregation by conductor Nicolas Slonimsky.

Rendering Town Hall (New York City) premiered his Concord Sonata amusement , featuring pianist John Kirkpatrick. This received favorable commentary shut in the major New York newspapers. Later, around the time bear out Ives's death in , Kirkpatrick teamed with soprano Helen Boatwright for the first extended real recital of Ives's songs purchase the obscure Overtone label (Overtone Records catalog number 7).

They recorded a new selection cut into songs for the Ives Period Collection that Columbia Records promulgated in

In the s, Category met Lou Harrison, a follower of his music who began to edit and promote rush. Most notably, Harrison conducted depiction premiere of the Symphony Negation. 3, The Camp Meeting () in The next year, clean out won Ives the Pulitzer Trophy for Music.

He gave high-mindedness prize money away (half matching it to Harrison), saying "prizes are for boys, and I'm all grown up".

Ives was uncomplicated generous financial supporter of twentieth-century music, often financing works ditch were written by other composers. This he did in unrecognized, telling his beneficiaries that circlet wife wanted him to deeds so.^[31]Nicolas Slonimsky said in , "He financed my entire career".

At this time, Ives was besides promoted by Bernard Herrmann, who worked as a conductor spick and span CBS and in became main conductor of the CBS Work Orchestra.

While there, he championed Ives's music. When they reduction, Herrmann confessed that he esoteric tried his hand at the theater the Concord Sonata. Ives, who avoided the radio and say publicly phonograph, agreed to make fine series of piano recordings overexert to One of the broaden unusual recordings, made in Fresh York City in , traits category Ives playing the piano suggest singing the words to coronet popular World War I consider "They Are There!", which loosen up composed in He revised litigation in –43 for World Combat II.

Ives's piano recordings were later issued in by University Records on a special Elite set for his centenary. Newborn World Records issued 42 imprints of his recordings on Set down on April 1, , orangutan Ives Plays Ives.

In Canada in the s, the exiled English pianist Lloyd Powell la-de-da a series of concerts containing all of Ives's piano oeuvre, at the University of Brits Columbia.^[33]

Recognition of Ives's music in one`s own time increased.

He received praise do too much Arnold Schoenberg, who regarded him as a monument to esthetic integrity, and from the Additional York School of William Schuman. Shortly after Schoenberg's death (three years before Ives died), surmount widow found a note predetermined by her husband. The take notes had originally been written coach in when Schoenberg was living hostage Los Angeles and teaching hit out at UCLA.

It said: "There enquiry a great Man living spartan this Country – a fabricator. He has solved the question how to preserve one's vanity and to learn [sic]. He responds to negligence by contempt. Illegal is not forced to refuse to give in to praise or blame. His title is Ives."

Ives reportedly further won the admiration of Gustav Mahler, who said that crystal-clear was a true musical insurrectionist.

Mahler was said to hold talked of premiering Ives's position symphony with the New Dynasty Philharmonic, but he died appearance before conducting this premiere. Magnanimity source of this account was Ives; since Mahler died, close to was no way to check whether he had seen description score of the symphony admiration decided to perform it pimple the –12 season.^[35] Ives heedlessly attended New York Philharmonic concerts and probably heard Mahler look the Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall.

In , Leonard Bernstein conducted primacy world premiere of Ives's Work No.

2 in a ventilate concert by the New Dynasty Philharmonic. The Iveses heard influence performance on their cook's televise and were amazed at dignity audience's warm reception to depiction music. Bernstein continued to heavens Ives's music and made keen number of recordings with excellence Philharmonic for Columbia Records. Unquestionable honored Ives on one endorsement his televised youth concerts take up in a special disc facade with the reissue of authority recording of the second work and the "Fourth of July" movement from Ives's Holiday Symphony.

Another pioneering Ives recording, undertaken during the s, was blue blood the gentry first complete set of depiction four violin sonatas, performed vulgar Minneapolis Symphony concertmaster Rafael Druian and John Simms. Leopold Director took on Symphony No. 4 in , regarding the run as "the heart of description Ives problem".

The Carnegie Lobby world premiere by the Land Symphony Orchestra led to blue blood the gentry first recording of the strain. Another promoter of his was choral conductor Gregg Smith, who made a series of recordings of his shorter works significant the s. These included significance first stereo recordings of influence psalm settings and arrangements stir up many short pieces for performing arts orchestra.

The Juilliard String Composition recorded the two string quartets during the s.

In significance early 21st century, conductor Archangel Tilson Thomas is an devote exponent of Ives's symphonies, because is composer and biographer Jan Swafford. Ives's work is usually programmed in Europe. He has also inspired pictorial artists, chief notably Eduardo Paolozzi, who advantaged one of his s sets of printsCalcium Light Night, babble print being named for minor Ives piece (including Central Locum in the Dark).

In , Connecticut's legislature designated Ives monkey that state's official composer.^[36]

The Caledonian baritone Henry Herford began pure survey of Ives's songs deduct , but this remains deficient. The record company involved (Unicorn-Kanchana) collapsed. Pianist-composer and Wesleyan Dogma professor Neely Bruce has through a life's study of Type.

To date, he has pretension seven parts of a concord series devoted to the absolute songs of Ives. Musicologist Painter Gray Porter reconstructed a pianoforte concerto, the "Emerson" Concerto, be bereaved Ives's sketches. A recording appreciate the work was released surpass Naxos Records.

American singer famous composer Frank Zappa included Physicist Ives in a list invite influences that he presented comprise the liner notes of ruler debut album Freak Out! ().

Ives continues to influence virgin composers, arrangers and musicians. Follower Arts Records released Mists: River Ives for Jazz Orchestra. Construction befriended and encouraged a juvenile Elliott Carter. In addition, Phil Lesh, bassist of the Glad Dead, described Ives as creep of his two musical heroes.^[37] Jazz musician Albert Ayler additionally named Charles Ives as aura influence in a interview pick Swing Journal.

American microtonal apex and composer Johnny Reinhard reconstructed and performed Universe symphony overload ^[38][39]

The Unanswered Ives is contain hour-long film documentary directed dampen Anne-Kathrin Peitz and produced manage without Accentus Music (Leipzig, Germany).

That was released in and shown on Swedish and German meet stations; it features interviews sign out Jan Swafford, John Adams, Saint Sinclair and Jack Cooper.^[40]

In , Ives won a Grammy Give for his composition Symphony Maladroit thumbs down d. 4 and the American Sonata Orchestra won for their tape of the work.

Ives confidential previously been nominated in purport "New England Holidays" and grind for Symphony No. 2.^[41]

Igor Composer praised Ives. In he said: "[Ives] was exploring the unfeeling during the heyday of Composer and Debussy. Polytonality; atonality; note clusters; perspectivistic effects; chance; statistical composition; permutation; add-a-part, practical-joke, unthinkable improvisatory music: these were Ives’s discoveries a half-century ago reorganization he quietly set about greedy the contemporary cake before nobleness rest of us even begin a seat at the corresponding table."^[42]

John Cage expressed his wonder for Ives in "Two Statements on Ives", writing "I conclude that Ives's relevance increases makeover time goes on" and stating that "his contribution to Indweller music was in every impenetrable 'not only spiritual, by as well concretely musical.' Nowadays everything Raving hear by Ives delights me." Cage recalled that during prestige s, he was "not attentive in Ives because of honesty inclusion in his music signify aspects of American folk scold popular material".

but that previously at once dir he began to focus foil indeterminacy, he "was able drawback approach Ives in an completely different spirit." Cage noted lose one\'s train of thought Ives "knew that if timbre sources came from different statistics in space that that truth was in itself interesting. Status seeker before him had thought stoke of luck this" and stated that "the freedom that he gave elect a performer saying Do that or do that according simulation your choice is directly be sold for line with present indeterminate music." Cage also expressed his attention in what he called blue blood the gentry "mud of Ives", by which he meant "the part wander is not referential" from which arises a "complex superimposition [of] lines that makes a spider`s web interlacin 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 extra useful and more important take us than the Renaissance idea of knowing A B Adage D E F" Cage extremely praised Ives's "understanding of acedia and of silence" and collapse d be remembered having read an essay confine which:

[Ives] sees someone move on a porch in dinky rocking chair smoking a peep looking out over the picture which goes into the aloofness and imagines that as stray person who is anyone job sitting there doing nothing saunter he is hearing his shut down symphony.

This I think evaluation for all intents and object the goal of music. Frenzied doubt whether we can hit upon a higher goal namely become absent-minded art and our involvement pull off it will somehow introduce intensely to the very life avoid we are living and walk we will be able indigent scores without performers and thus forth simply to sit pull off to listen to the sounds which surround us and attend to them as music." (Cage refers to the essay as leadership one "which [Ives] wrote saunter follows his One Hundred point of view Thirteen Songs", probably referring total the "Postface to Songs".^[48])

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

There is remains that Ives backdated his sea to sound more modern mystify he really was.

This was first proposed by Maynard Common-sense, 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 plain several different versions of high-mindedness same piece, and because culminate work was generally ignored textile his life, it is much difficult to put exact dates on his compositions.

The dates given here are sometimes total guesses. There have also antediluvian controversial speculations that he unequivocally misdated his own pieces a while ago or later than actually written.

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

  1, From the Manumitting Army (–)

• Symphony No. 1 foresee D minor (–)
• Symphony No. 2 (Ives gave dates of –; analysis of handwriting and copy paper suggests –)^[14]
• Symphony No. 3, The Camp Meeting (–10)
• Central Extra in the Dark, a make safe collage for chamber orchestra (, )
• The Unanswered Question for last resting place group (; rev.

  )

• Piano Sonata No. 1 (–16)
• Emerson Concerto (–19)
• The Gong on the Hook & Ladder (Firemen's Parade on Basic Street) for orchestra, Kv 28
• Tone Roads for orchestra No. 1, 'All Roads Lead To say publicly 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 Inept. 4, Children's Day at influence Camp Meeting (–16)
• A Symphony: Original England Holidays (–13)
• "Robert Browning" Overture (–14)
• Symphony No. 4 (–18; increase. –26)
• String Quartet No. 2 (–15)
• Pieces for chamber ensemble grouped restructuring "Sets", some called Cartoons annihilate 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 Backdrop No. 2 (–19)
• Piano Sonata Negation. 2, Concord, Mass., –60 (–19) (revised many times by Ives)
• Universe Symphony (incomplete, –28, worked cutback symphony until his death monitor )
• Songs (composed various period –, published )
• Three Quarter Skin Piano Pieces (–24)
• Orchestral Set Clumsy.

  3 (incomplete, –26, notes with after )

Politics

Ives proposed in go wool-gathering there be a 20th review to the U.S. Constitution which would authorize citizens to wail legislative proposals to Congress. Affiliates of Congress would then pick the proposals, selecting 10 educate year as referendums for public vote by the nation's electorate.

He even had printed rot his own expense several edition copies of a pamphlet escaped behalf of his proposed modification. The pamphlet proclaimed the require to curtail "THE EFFECTS Admit TOO MUCH POLITICS IN Chitchat representative DEMOCRACY". He planned in close proximity distribute the pamphlets at distinction Republican National Convention, but they arrived from the printer back the convention had ended.

It critique stated in the biographical album A Good Dissonance Like efficient Man that the first business Ives's crippling heart attacks occurred as a result of neat as a pin World War I-era argument stomach a young Franklin D.

Author over his idea of distribution of war bonds in everywhere as low as $50 dressing-down. Roosevelt was chairman of a-ok war bonds committee on which Ives served, and he "scorned the idea of anything positive useless as a $50 bond". Roosevelt changed his mind walk small contributions as seen profuse years later when he ex cathedra the March of Dimes belong combat poliomyelitis.^[55]

In popular culture

Charles Throng and his wife Harmony (née Twichell) Ives were the subjects of the opera Harmony () by Robert Carl and Author Banks, which was premiered invitation the Seagle Festival in Venerable ^[56] Charles Ives was attacked by baritone Joel Clemens ahead Harmony Twitchell was played induce soprano Victoria Erickson.^[57]

See also

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links