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Charles Ives (1874-1954)

First broadcast from 20070910 to 20070914.

Donald Macleod ventures into the weird and wonderful world of Charles Ives, widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the last century - an achievement accomplished in his spare time from a day job as one of America's most successful life insurers.

Composer Of The Week

5 episodes

Episode	First Broadcast	Repeated	Description
01	20070910	20080721	1/5. The programme includes two of Ives's best-known works, The Unanswered Question and Central Park in the Dark, as well as the less familiar Second Violin Sonata. They Are There!, arr. Lou Harrison Thomas Hampson (baritone) San Francisco Symphony Chorus and Orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor) Symphony No 2 (5th mvt: Allegro molto vivace) New York Philharmonic Leonard Bernstein (conductor) Sonata No 2 for violin and piano Glenn Dicterow (violin) Israela Margalit (piano) Remembrance Paul Sperry (tenor) Irma Vallecillo (piano) The Pond Ensemble Modern Ingo Metzmacher (conductor) Over the Pavements Ensemble Modern Ingo Metzmacher (conductor) The Unanswered Question (revised version); Central Park in the Dark Adolph Herseth (trumpet) Chicago Symphony Orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor). The programme includes two of Ives' best-known works, The Unanswered Question and Central Park in the Dark, as well as the less familiar Second Violin Sonata. They Are There!, arr. Lou Harrison Thomas Hampson (baritone) San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor) Symphony No 2 (5th mvt: Allegro molto vivace) New York Philharmonic Leonard Bernstein (conductor) Sonata No 2 for violin and piano Glenn Dicterow (violin) Israela Margalit (piano) Remembrance Paul Sperry (tenor) Irma Vallecillo (piano) The Pond Ensemble Modern Ingo Metzmacher (conductor) Over the Pavements Ensemble Modern Ingo Metzmacher (conductor) The Unanswered Question (revised version); Central Park in the Dark Adolph Herseth (trumpet) Chicago Symphony Orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor).
02	20070911	20080722	Donald Macleod ventures into the weird and wonderful world of Charles Ives. 2/5. Ives's life and music were often closely intertwined, for example his so-called 'glory trance', General William Booth Enters into Heaven, vividly recalls the revivalist meetings of his youth. General William Booth Enters into Heaven William Sharp (baritone) Steven Blier (piano) String Quartet No 2 Lydian String Quartet Three Places in New England Baltimore Symphony Orchestra David Zinman (conductor). Ives' life and music were often closely intertwined, for example his so-called 'glory trance', General William Booth Enters into Heaven, vividly recalls the revivalist meetings of his youth. General William Booth Enters into Heaven William Sharp (baritone) Steven Blier (piano) String Quartet No 2 Lydian String Quartet Three Places in New England Baltimore Symphony Orchestra David Zinman (conductor).
03	20070912	20080723	Ives's brand of patriotism verged on the jingoistic, but his music tells a more nuanced story, as in the deeply moving From Hanover Square North, the composer's evocation of a moment of spontaneous popular grief at the news of the sinking of the liner Lusitania. Also in the programme, Ives's 'symphony', New England Holidays, which has been described as an American Four Seasons. Tom Sails Away Gerald Finley (baritone) Julius Drake (piano) From Hanover Square North, at the End of a Tragic Day, the Voice of the People Again Arose Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra CCM Chamber Choir Gerhard Samuel (conductor) A Symphony: New England Holidays Fred Spector (Jew's Harp) Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor). Ives' brand of patriotism verged on the jingoistic, but his music tells a more nuanced story, as in the deeply moving From Hanover Square North, the composer's evocation of a moment of spontaneous popular grief at the news of the sinking of the liner Lusitania. Also in the programme, Ives' magnificent 'symphony', New England Holidays, which has been described as an American Four Seasons. Tom Sails Away Gerald Finley (baritone) Julius Drake (piano) From Hanover Square North, at the End of a Tragic Day, the Voice of the People Again Arose Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra CCM Chamber Choir Gerhard Samuel (conductor) A Symphony: New England Holidays Fred Spector (Jew's Harp) Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor).
04	20070913	20080724, Rptdtoday8.45pm	We meet Ives's adopted daughter Edie and her friend Susanna, the hapless cowpuncher Charlie Rutlage, and the Transcendentalist writer Nathaniel Hawthorn who was immortalised in Ives's Concord Sonata. We also hear Ives's seminal work on 'estate planning' for life insurance agents, and his remarkable Fourth Symphony. Two Little Flowers Mary Ann Hart (mezzo-soprano) Dennis Helmrich (piano) Charlie Rutlage Sanford Sylvan (baritone) Alan Feinberg (piano) Piano Sonata No 2 (Concord, Mass.) Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) Charlie Rutlage (The Other Side of Pioneering, or Side Lights on American Enterprise) Music Projects, London Richard Bernas (conductor) Symphony No 4 Dallas Symphony Orchestra Andrew Litton (conductor).
05 LAST	20070914	20080725	Donald Macleod concludes his look at the music and life of Charles Ives. 5/5. Including the invigorating Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos, the majestic Psalm 90 and the quirky Set for Theatre Orchestra as well as a group of late Ives songs. On the Antipodes Henry Herford (baritone) Ensemble Modern Ingo Metzmacher (conductor) Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos Alexei Lubimov, Pierre-Laurent Aimard (pianos) Psalm 90 Pamela Priestley-Smith (soprano) David Roy (tenor) Christopher Hughes (organ) Stephen Lees, Tony Lucas, Nicholas Ormrod, Nigel Shipway (bells) BBC Singers The One Way; A Sea Dirge; Yellow Leaves Dora Ohrenstein (soprano) Phillip Bush (piano) In the Mornin Mary Ann Hart (mezzo-soprano) Dennis Helmrich (piano) Set for Theatre Orchestra Sunrise Martha Hart (mezzo-soprano) Charles Gray (violin) Mark S Johnson (piano). Including the invigorating Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos, the majestic Psalm 90 and the quirky Set for Theatre Orchestra as well as a group of late Ives songs.