{"id":4496,"date":"2019-10-23T22:22:23","date_gmt":"2019-10-24T03:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=4496"},"modified":"2019-10-23T22:22:23","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T03:22:23","slug":"ives-and-masculinity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2019\/10\/23\/ives-and-masculinity\/","title":{"rendered":"Ives and Masculinity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charles Ives (1874-1954) was known as perhaps the most influential American composers of the 20th century; \u201c<\/span>by his centenary in 1974 he was recognized worldwide as the first composer to create a distinctively American art music\u201d [1]<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Unlike the careers of many other prolific composers, he spent most of his working for insurance companies, composing only on the side. As a result, he was sometimes regarded as an amateur and did not become widely successful until late in his life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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One hallmark \u2018American\u2019 feature of his music was his tendency to borrow Protestant hymn melodies and American popular songs, complexifying and inserting them into his pieces. He also heavily quoted European composers in his music, such as Beethoven, Bach, and Massenet [1]<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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However, Ives constantly went back and revised pieces he had already written, often times adding more dissonance to pieces as time went on, perhaps suggesting a level of insecurity in his composition. In 1921, Henry Bellamann, dean of Chicora College for women, wrote Ives and proposed to program his Concord piano sonata on a lecture recital. Ives\u2019s reply \u201cshows his reluctance to accept praise without a veil of self-deprecation\u201d (Burkholder 215). Ives writes, \u201c<\/span>I am afraid [the Concord Sonata] will arouse little enthusiasm with most audiences…perhaps by this time you have decided that to undertake my music will be a too arduous and thankless job\u201d (Burkholder 215). He also encourages Bellamann to feel free to make any revisions desired to the sonata. It is somewhat unclear what Ives means by the statement that his piece will be unsuccessful with \u201cmost audiences;\u201d either he is unconfident in the sonata, or he thinks it is too good for average listeners to appreciate. I think that it is likely a combination of both sentiments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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