October 15, 2012.Ives and Flynn.The first internationally acclaimed American composer, Charles Ives was born on October 20, 1974 in Danbury, Connecticut.His father, George, was an Army bandleader, and when Charles was young he listened to the bands practicing in the town square and later played drums in his father’s band.He also learned to play piano and the organ, which apparently he did very well.One might not expect a bandleader to encourage musical experimenting, but that’s just what George Ives did when he taught music to his son.At the age of 14 Charles became a church organist, then moved to New Haven, and eventually entered Yale University.There he wrote his 1st Symphony, although he probably spent as much time playing sports as studying music – he was an excellent athlete.Upon graduating from Yale, Ives joined an insurance company.When it went broke, he and his friend started their own, Ives & Myrick.A successful executive, Ives became well known within the industry and even wrote articles on aspects of the insurance business.Composing music was what he did in his spare time.In 1906 Ives wrote the first of his acknowledged masterpieces, The Unanswered Question, scored for trumpet, four flutes, and string orchestra, a very unusual but highly effective combination of instruments; Ives indicated that the strings should be positioned behind the stage, the flute on the stage, and the trumpet, the one “asking the questions,” in hall itself.In 1908 Ives and his newly wed wife moved to New York; he lived there for the rest of his life.The period from about 1908 to 1927 was very productive: Ives wrote the Concord Sonata, his most popular piano solo composition, several symphonies, including the one titled New England Holidays and the very successful Fourth.He also wrote string quartets, violin sonatas, and songs.Then, abruptly, one day in 1927 he told his wife that he could not compose any longer. From that moment on he didn’t composed another single original tune, though he continued revising his older compositions.He lived another 27 years and died at the age of 80.
We have two piano pieces by Ives, Song Without (Good) Words (here) and Some South-Paw Pitching (here), performed by Heather O'Donnell, an American pianist living in Berlin.Heather O’Donnell is a big proponent of contemporary music.To some extent she is a link to our next composer, George Flynn: in 2004 she organized a project, "Responses to Charles Ives," which commissioned seven composers to write piano works.Each composition was supposed to reflect Ives’ influence; one of the contributors was George Flynn with Remembering.Flynn says that in his youth he was greatly influenced by Charles Ives’s Concord piano sonata.Recently, Southport Records issued a CD titled String Fever with three compositions by Flynn.One of them is Together, a 27-minute continuous work for violin and piano.Flynn describes it as developing through a series textures and moods, from quiet to more "aggressive," "jubilant," then moving to "floating serenity" and on.The final sounds of Together return to the opening statement and "can thus serve to restart the piece."This composition was originally written for the violinist Eugene Gratovich, a student of Jascha Heifetz and a big supporter of contemporary music.In this recording Together is performed by the violinist Stefan Hersh with the composer at the piano.You can listen to it here.
Ives and Flynn 2012
October 15, 2012. Ives and Flynn. The first internationally acclaimed American composer, Charles Ives was born on October 20, 1974 in Danbury, Connecticut. His father, George, was an Army bandleader, and when Charles was young he listened to the
bands practicing in the town square and later played drums in his father’s band. He also learned to play piano and the organ, which apparently he did very well. One might not expect a bandleader to encourage musical experimenting, but that’s just what George Ives did when he taught music to his son. At the age of 14 Charles became a church organist, then moved to New Haven, and eventually entered Yale University. There he wrote his 1st Symphony, although he probably spent as much time playing sports as studying music – he was an excellent athlete. Upon graduating from Yale, Ives joined an insurance company. When it went broke, he and his friend started their own, Ives & Myrick. A successful executive, Ives became well known within the industry and even wrote articles on aspects of the insurance business. Composing music was what he did in his spare time. In 1906 Ives wrote the first of his acknowledged masterpieces, The Unanswered Question, scored for trumpet, four flutes, and string orchestra, a very unusual but highly effective combination of instruments; Ives indicated that the strings should be positioned behind the stage, the flute on the stage, and the trumpet, the one “asking the questions,” in hall itself. In 1908 Ives and his newly wed wife moved to New York; he lived there for the rest of his life. The period from about 1908 to 1927 was very productive: Ives wrote the Concord Sonata, his most popular piano solo composition, several symphonies, including the one titled New England Holidays and the very successful Fourth. He also wrote string quartets, violin sonatas, and songs. Then, abruptly, one day in 1927 he told his wife that he could not compose any longer. From that moment on he didn’t composed another single original tune, though he continued revising his older compositions. He lived another 27 years and died at the age of 80.
We have two piano pieces by Ives, Song Without (Good) Words (here) and Some South-Paw Pitching (here), performed by Heather O'Donnell, an American pianist living in Berlin. Heather O’Donnell is a big proponent of contemporary music. To some extent she is a link to our next composer, George Flynn: in 2004 she organized a project, "Responses to Charles Ives," which commissioned seven composers to write piano works. Each composition was supposed to reflect Ives’ influence; one of the contributors was George Flynn with Remembering. Flynn says that in his youth he was greatly influenced by Charles Ives’s Concord piano sonata. Recently, Southport Records issued a CD titled String Fever with three compositions by Flynn. One of them is Together, a 27-minute continuous work for violin and piano. Flynn describes it as developing through a series textures and moods, from quiet to more "aggressive," "jubilant," then moving to "floating serenity" and on. The final sounds of Together return to the opening statement and "can thus serve to restart the piece." This composition was originally written for the violinist Eugene Gratovich, a student of Jascha Heifetz and a big supporter of contemporary music. In this recording Together is performed by the violinist Stefan Hersh with the composer at the piano. You can listen to it here.