Charles Ives biography is short. Charles Edward Ives: biography

Probably, if the musicians of the early XX century. and on the eve of the First World War, they learned that the composer C. Ives lives in America and heard his works, they would have treated them as a kind of experiment, a curiosity, or they would not have noticed at all: he himself and that soil on which he has grown. But then no one knew Ives - for a very long time he did nothing at all to promote his music. Ives' "discovery" took place only at the end of the 1930s, when it turned out that many (and, moreover, very different) methods of the newest musical writing had already been tested by an original American composer in the era of A. Scriabin, C. Debussy and H. Mahler. By the time Ives became famous, he had not composed music for many years and, seriously ill, cut off contact with the outside world. "An American tragedy" called the fate of Ives one of his contemporaries. Ives was born into the family of a military conductor. His father was a tireless experimenter - this trait also passed to his son (For example, he instructed two orchestras walking towards each other to play different works.) From childhood and youth spent in a patriarchal environment, Ives' "hearing" of America begins the “openness” of his work, which absorbed, probably, everything that sounded around. In many of his compositions, echoes of Puritan religious hymns, jazz, minstrel theater sound. As a child, Charles was brought up on the music of two composers - J. S. Bach and S. Foster (a friend of Ives's father, an American "bard", author of popular songs and ballads). Serious, alien to any vanity attitude to music, sublime structure of thoughts and feelings, Ives will later resemble Bach.

Ives wrote his first works for a military band (he played percussion instruments in it), at the age of 14 he became a church organist in his hometown. But he also played the piano in the theater, improvising ragtime and other pieces. After graduating from Yale University (1894-1898), where he studied with X. Parker (composition) and D. Buck (organ), Ives works as a church organist in New York. Then for many years he served as a clerk in an insurance company and did it with great passion. Subsequently, in the 1920s, moving away from music, Ives became a successful businessman and a prominent specialist (author of popular works) on insurance. Most of Ives's works belong to the genres of orchestral and chamber music. He is the author of five symphonies, overtures, program works for orchestra (Three Villages in New England, Central Park in the Dark), two string quartets, five sonatas for violin, two for pianoforte, pieces for organ, choirs and more than 100 songs. Ives wrote most of his major works for a long time, over several years. In the Second Piano Sonata (1911-15), the composer paid tribute to his spiritual predecessors. Each of its parts depicts a portrait of one of the American philosophers: R. Emerson, N. Hawthorne, G. Topo; the entire sonata bears the name of the place where these philosophers lived (Concord, Massachusetts, 1840-1860). Their ideas formed the basis of Ives' worldview (for example, the idea of ​​merging human life with the life of nature). Ives' art is characterized by a high ethical attitude, his findings were never purely formal, but were a serious attempt to reveal the hidden possibilities inherent in the very nature of sound.

Before other composers, Ives came to many of the modern means of expression. From his father's experiments with different orchestras, there is a direct path to polytonality (simultaneous sounding of several keys), surround, "stereoscopic" sound and aleatorics (when the musical text is not rigidly fixed, but arises from a combination of elements every time anew, as if by chance). Ives' last major project (the unfinished "World" symphony) involved the arrangement of orchestras and the choir in the open air, in the mountains, at different points in space. Two parts of the symphony (Music of the Earth and Music of the Sky) had to sound ... simultaneously, but twice, so that the listeners could alternately fix their attention on each. In some works, Ives approached the serial organization of atonal music earlier than A. Schoenberg.

The desire to penetrate into the bowels of sound matter led Ives to a quarter-tone system, completely unknown to classical music. He writes Three Quarter Tone Pieces for Two Pianos (appropriately tuned) and an article "Quarter Tone Impressions". Ives devoted more than 30 years to composing music, and only in 1922 published a number of works at his own expense. For the last 20 years of his life, Ives has retired from all business, which is facilitated by increasing blindness, heart disease and nervous system. In 1944, in honor of Ives' 70th birthday, a jubilee concert was organized in Los Angeles. His music was highly appreciated by the largest musicians of our century. I. Stravinsky once noted: "Ives' music told me more than novelists describing the American West ... I discovered a new understanding of America in it."

Ives' work was heavily influenced by the folk music he listened to in his rural provincial childhood - folk songs, spiritual and religious hymns. Ives' unique musical style combines elements of folklore, traditional everyday music with complex, sharp, dissonant atonal and polytonal harmonies, sound imaging techniques. He developed an original serial writing technique, using the means of the quarter-tone system.

Compositions

• Cantata "Celestial country" (Celestial country, 1899).
• For orchestra - 5 symphonies (1898-98, 1897-1902, 1901-04, 1910-16, 5th, Holidays - Holidays, 1904-13), Universe (Universe symphony - fragments of a symphony, 1911-16), " Central Park in the dark "(Central park in the dark, 1898-1907), Three villages in New England (Three places in New England, 1903-14) and other program pieces, overtures (1901-12), pieces for a large symphony and chamber orchestras, Ragtime dances (1900-11) for the theater orchestra.
• String Quartet (1896) and other chamber-instrumental ensembles, including The Unanswered Question (1906, later orchestral version)
• 2 piano sonatas (including the second piano sonata - "Concord", 1909-15).
• 5 violin sonatas (including the fourth sonata for violin and piano - "Children's day at the camp" - "Children's day at the camp meeting", 1915).
• Compositions for organ.
• Pieces for various instruments (including "Three quartertone pieces" - "Three quartertone piano pieces" for two pianos, 1903-24).
• Works for the choir, cycles of songs on poems by American poets (114 songs, 1884-1921).
• Articles on quartertone music (including "Some quartertone impressions", 1925).

Texts

• Memos/John Kirkpatrick, ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1972

Memory

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He received his primary musical education under the guidance of his father, a military conductor. In 1894-98 he studied at Yale University, where he studied composition with X. Parker and playing the organ with D. Buck. Since 1899 church organist in New York and other cities.

The patriarchal environment of his childhood and adolescence played an important role in shaping Ives' work; in the provinces, he constantly heard folk music, was a participant in rural musical festivals. The roots of his work are in folk songs and religious hymns, in brass music performed by village musicians (Ives' early compositions were written for a brass band in which he played percussion instruments).

Ives developed his own musical style, combining elements of traditional everyday music with unusual, sharp harmonies, original instrumentation. Ives' work is characterized by lyricism and humor, a penchant for philosophical content along with the rationalism of the musical language.

In a number of writings, Ives sought to reflect the life of his homeland. Thus, in episodes from the 2nd sonata for violin and piano, sharp collisions of diverse intonation-rhythmic elements reproduce pictures of noisy village festivities.

Ives began writing music in the 90s. 19th century, but until the end of the 30s. In the 20th century, his writings were not known. (Only in 1947 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the 3rd symphony, written in 1911.) Ives received real recognition posthumously, when American musicians discovered in his artistic heritage the features of an original creative personality of a brightly national warehouse and proclaimed Ives the founder of a new American school.

Ives' most famous works - the 2nd piano sonata ("Concord", 1909-15), the 3rd and 4th symphonies, overture No 2 - are replete with sharp techniques of dissonant atonal and polytonal writing. Sound imaging techniques are typical for the style of the 4th sonata for violin and piano "Children's day at the camp meeting", 1915.

In some of his compositions, Ives used the peculiar technique of serial writing he found, as well as the means of the quarter-tone system (“Three quartertone pieces” - “Three quartertone piano pieces” for two pianos, 1903-24). Ives owns essays and articles on quartertone music (Some quartertone impressions, 1925, etc.).

Works: cantata Celestial country (Celestial country, 1899); for orc. - 5 symphonies (1898-98, 1897-1902, 1901-04, 1910-16, 5th, Holidays - Holidays, 1904-13), Universe (Universe symphony - fragments of a symphony, 1911-16), Central Park in darkness (Central park in the dark, 1898-1907), Three villages in New England (Three places in New England, 1903-14) and other program pieces, overtures (1901-12), pieces for a large symphony. and chamber. orc., Dancing ragtime (Ragtime dances, 1900-11) for theater. orc.; strings. quartet (1896) and other chamber instruments. ensembles; 2 fp. sonatas; 5 skr. sonatas; op. for an organ; pieces for various instr.; op. for choir, cycles of songs on poems by Amer. poets (114 songs, 1884-1921).

Literature: Rakhmanova M., Charles Ives, "SM", 1971, No 6, p. 97-108; Copland, A., The Ives case in our new music, N. Y., 1941; Cowell H. and S., Charles Ives and his music, N. Y., 1955; Letters from Ch. Ives to N. Slonimsky, in: Slonimsky N., Music since 1900, N. Y., 1971, p. 1318-48.

G. M. Schneerson

Plan:

Introduction

• 1 Biography
• 2 Creativity
• 3 Compositions
• 4 Lyrics
• 5 Literature about the composer

Introduction

Charles Edward Ives, 1913

Charles Edward Ives(English) Charles Edward Ives; October 20, 1874, Danbury, Connecticut - May 19, 1954, New York) was an American composer.

1. Biography

Ives circa 1899

The son of a military bandmaster, who introduced his son to music early. From the age of 13, Ives was the organist in the church for many years. He graduated from Yale University (1894-1898) with a degree in composition, studied composition with X. Parker and playing the organ with D. Buck. Since 1899 he has been a church organist in New York and other cities. Later he served in various insurance companies, organized his own firm, made a number of innovations in the field of real estate insurance. He achieved significant success in business, which allowed him to support his family without making music professionally. After 1907, he began to experience heart failure, to which diabetes and other ailments were added over the years. Since 1926, he practically stopped composing, in the 1930s he left the service. He was friends with many famous US composers (including Carl Ruggles).

2. Creativity

The patriarchal environment of his childhood and adolescence played an important role in shaping Ives' work; in the provinces, he constantly heard folk music, was a participant in rural musical festivals. The roots of his work are in folk songs and religious hymns, in brass music performed by village musicians (Ives' early compositions were written for a brass band in which he played percussion instruments). Ives developed his own musical style, combining elements of traditional everyday music with unusual, sharp harmonies, original instrumentation. Ives' work is characterized by lyricism and humor, a penchant for philosophical content along with the rationalism of the musical language. In a number of writings, Ives sought to reflect the life of his homeland. Thus, in episodes from the 2nd sonata for violin and piano, sharp collisions of diverse intonation-rhythmic elements reproduce pictures of noisy village festivities.

Ives began to write music from the 90s of the 19th century, but until the end of the 30s of the 20th century his compositions were not known. Ives' music, which developed American folklore, religious and popular motifs, but at the same time was prone to experimentation, was rarely performed during his lifetime. The situation began to change only in the 1940s, when Ives received high praise from Arnold Schoenberg, became the winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1947) for the 3rd symphony, written in 1911. Ives received real recognition posthumously when American musicians discovered in his artistic heritage the features of an original creative personality of a brightly national warehouse and proclaimed Ives the founder of a new American school. In 1951, the premiere of Ives' Second Symphony (1907-1909) was conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Ives is now recognized as one of the most important composers in the United States.

Ives' most famous works - the 2nd piano sonata ("Concord", 1909-15), the 3rd and 4th symphonies, overture No. 2 - are replete with sharp techniques of dissonant atonal and polytonal writing. The techniques of sound representation are characteristic of the style of the 4th sonata for violin and piano "Children's day at the camp meeting", 1915. In some compositions, Ives used the peculiar technique of serial writing that he found, as well as the means of a quarter-tone systems ("Three quartertone piano pieces" - "Three quartertone piano pieces" for two piano pieces, 1903-24). Ives owns essays and articles on quartertone music ("Some quartertone impressions", 1925, etc.).

Ives is the author of six symphonies (the sixth, "World", 1915-1928, was not completed), the cantata "Heavenly Country", two string quartets, five sonatas for violin and piano, many chamber compositions for different compositions, a collection of "114 songs" (1922) and others.

A crater on Mercury is named after Ives.

3. Compositions

• Cantata Celestial country (1899).
• For orchestra - 5 symphonies (1898-98, 1897-1902, 1901-04, 1910-16, 5th, Holidays - Holidays, 1904-13), Universe (Universe symphony - fragments of a symphony, 1911-16), Central park in the dark (Central park in the dark, 1898-1907), Three villages in New England (Three places in New England, 1903-14) and other program pieces, overtures (1901-12), pieces for large symphony and chamber orchestras , Dancing Ragtime (Ragtime dances, 1900-11) for the theater orchestra.
• String Quartet (1896) and other chamber-instrumental ensembles.
• 2 piano sonatas.
• 5 violin sonatas.
• Compositions for organ.
• Pieces for various instruments.
• Works for the choir, cycles of songs on poems by American poets (114 songs, 1884-1921).

4. Texts

• Memos/John Kirkpatrick, ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1972

5. Literature about the composer

• Ivashkin A. Charles Ives and the Music of the Twentieth Century. Moscow: Soviet Composer, 1991.
• Schneerson G. M. Ives Charles Edward / / Musical Encyclopedia in 6 volumes, TSB, M., 1973 - 1982, Vol. 1, p. 74-75.
• Rakhmanova M. Charles Ives, "SM", 1971, no. 6, p. 97-108.
• Cowell H. Cowell S.R. Charles Ives and His Music. New York: Oxford UP, 1955.
• Rossiter F.R. Charles Ives and his America. New York: Liveright, 1975.
• Block G. Charles Ives: a bio-bibliography. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
• Burkholder J.P. All Made of Tunes: Charles Ives and the Uses of Musical Borrowing. New Haven: Yale UP, 1995.
• Charles Ives and His World/ J. Peter Burkholder ed. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1996.
• Swafford J. Charles Ives: A Life with Music. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
• Sherwood G. Charles Ives: a guide to research. New York: Routledge, 2002.
• Coland A. The Ives case in our new music, N. Y., 1941.
• Letters from Ch. Ives to N. Slonimsky, in: Slonimsky N., Music since 1900, N. Y., 1971, p. 1318-48.

Ives is the son of a military bandmaster who became his first music teacher. Since 1887 (from the age of 13) he worked as an organist in the church. He graduated from Yale University (1894-1898), where he studied composition (class of X. Parker) and playing the organ (class of D. Buck). He began composing music in the 90s of the 19th century. Since 1899 he has been a church organist in New York and other cities. He worked in various insurance companies, opened his own business, introduced a number of innovations in real estate insurance. He achieved significant success in the insurance business, which allowed him to support his family, playing music as a hobby. After 1907, heart problems began, diabetes and other diseases were added to this over time. Since 1926, he practically stopped composing, in the 1930s he left the service.

Until the early 1940s, his compositions were rarely performed and practically unknown. Ives was truly recognized only after his death, when he was declared one of the most significant American composers. The first recognition came in the 1940s, when Ives' work was praised by Arnold Schoenberg. Ives was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (1947) for his 3rd Symphony (1911). In 1951 Leonard Bernstein conducted the premiere of Ives' Second Symphony (1907-1909).

Since 1970, the American Academy of Arts and Letters has given young composers the annual Charles Ives Award. A crater on Mercury is named after Ives.

Style

Ives' work was heavily influenced by the folk music he listened to in his rural provincial childhood - folk songs, spiritual and religious hymns. Ives' unique musical style combines elements of folklore, traditional everyday music with complex, sharp, dissonant atonal and polytonal harmonies, sound imaging techniques. He developed an original serial writing technique, using the means of the quarter-tone system.

Compositions

• Cantata Celestial country (1899).
• For orchestra - 5 symphonies (1898-98, 1897-1902, 1901-04, 1910-16, 5th, Holidays - Holidays, 1904-13), Universe (Universe symphony - fragments of a symphony, 1911-16), Central park in the dark (Central park in the dark, 1898-1907), Three villages in New England (Three places in New England, 1903-14) and other program pieces, overtures (1901-12), pieces for large symphony and chamber orchestras , Dancing Ragtime (Ragtime dances, 1900-11) for the theater orchestra.
• String Quartet (1896) and other chamber-instrumental ensembles.
• 2 piano sonatas (including the second sonata for piano - "Concord", 1909-15).
• 5 violin sonatas (including the fourth sonata for violin and piano - "Children's day at the camp" - "Children's day at the camp meeting", 1915).
• Compositions for organ.
• Pieces for various instruments (including "Three quartertone pieces" - "Three quartertone piano pieces" for two pianos, 1903-24).
• Works for the choir, cycles of songs on poems by American poets (114 songs, 1884-1921).
• Articles on quartertone music (including "Some quartertone impressions", 1925).

Texts

• Memos/John Kirkpatrick, ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1972

Literature about the composer

• Ivashkin A. Charles Ives and the Music of the 20th Century. Moscow: Soviet Composer, 1991.
• Schneerson G. M. Ives Charles Edward / / Musical Encyclopedia in 6 volumes, TSB, M., 1973 - 1982, Vol. 1, p. 74-75.
• Rakhmanova M. Charles Ives, "SM", 1971, No. 6, p. 97-108.
• Cowell H. Cowell S. R. Charles Ives and His Music. New York: Oxford UP, 1955.
• Rossiter F. R. Charles Ives and his America. New York: Liveright, 1975.
• Block G. Charles Ives: a bio-bibliography. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
• Burkholder J. P. All Made of Tunes: Charles Ives and the Uses of Musical Borrowing. New Haven: Yale UP, 1995.
• Charles Ives and His World/ J. Peter Burkholder, ed. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1996.
• Swafford J. Charles Ives: A Life with Music. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
• Sherwood G. Charles Ives: a guide to research. New York: Routledge, 2002.
• Copland A. The Ives case in our new music, N. Y., 1941.
• Letters from Ch. Ives to N. Slonimsky, in: Slonimsky N., Music since 1900, N. Y., 1971, p. 1318-48.