I had heard scattered performances of Charles Ives' music over the years, but it was not until I attended a student piano recital at Mannes last October that I finally gained some understanding of the level of innovation that Ives, working entirely on his own and without knowledge of the European modernists, managed to bring to twentieth century music. The only work on the program that evening was the Concord Sonata. Although this is arguably the greatest work for solo piano ever written by an American composer, it is also among the least performed. In fact, the Mannes recital was the only opportunity I've had to hear it. No matter. Listening to it on that one occasion was enough to provide me with an inkling of how far in advance of their time Ives' compositions actually were. As Schnittke has written in his essay "Stereophonic Tendencies in Modern Orchestral Thinking":
"In conclusion, we should add that the stereophony of the 1950s and 1960s, like most of the other technical devices used by contemporary composers, was anticipated at the beginning of the century by Charles Ives."
If there were any doubt in my mind of the truth of Schnittke's assertion, I had only to listen to a recording of the Fourth Symphony in the second movement of which two orchestral groups led by different conductors "collide" on stage while playing vastly different pieces of music.
I recently finished reading an excellent biography entitled Charles Ives: A Life with Music by Jan Swafford. The author, himself a composer, has been a lifelong fan of Ives and displays in his writing a deep empathy for both the man and his music. Not that Ives is an easy subject to write about. He was at once warm hearted and cantankerous, a musical genius and a pragmatic insurance executive. But Swafford explores as fully as possible all the contradictions in Ives' life and personality. Though he is extremely sympathetic, the author does not flinch from showing the dark side of Ives' character, even going so far as to raise the possibility that the composer may have suffered from mental illness. He also offers, in non-technical terms, a comprehensive background and analysis of each of Ives' major works. In so doing, he also provides the reader with a detailed history of American music in the first part of the twentieth century, a knowledge of which is essential for anyone seeking a context in which to place Ives' work. Along the way, Swafford introduces a cast of now almost forgotten characters - such eccentric figures as Henry Cowell, Carl Ruggles and Nicolas Slonimsky - whose lives are fascinating in themselves. The book is not light reading; but, like Ives' music, it richly rewards its audience for their attention.
After having read Swafford's biography, I was thrilled to see that the American Academy of Arts and Letters had arranged for the study of Ives' West Redding home to be transported from Connecticut and reconstructed exactly as he had left it on the Academy's premises in upper Manhattan. This followed directly from the controversy surrounding the fate of the home itself, as outlined in an article on WQXR, after it had recently been sold to a new owner. Unfortunately, the Academy has failed to provide visitors with a meaningful experience. The room has been completely roped off and its contents can only be seen in dim light from a distance. While there are rows of books lining the study's shelves, one is not able to see the titles of the faded volumes. There is a bulletin board to which Ives pinned letters and articles of interest, but these are too far away to be made out clearly. No description is given of the photographs and memorabilia that fill the room nor is any inventory provided. In other words, there is nothing more to be seen by traveling to West 155th Street than is already visible in the photo shown on the Academy's press release. The curators did not even trouble themselves to provide audio samples of Ives' music that could be heard on site by those not already familiar with it. All this is extremely frustrating. It is a wasted opportunity to better acquaint those interested with a deeper knowledge of Ives' legacy.
The studio is currently open to public view through June 15, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment