# Charles Ives Orchestral Works



## Colin M (May 31, 2018)

Can I please get some suggestions as to a few good introductions to this composer’s orchestral works? Pieces and performers please. Appreciate you.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

The 2nd and 3rd symphonies, Three Places In New England, Unanswered Question, Central Park In the Dark, Concord Sonata are all worth investigating.

A lot of people like Bernstein with Ives; I prefer Howard Hanson.

There's a good collection on Mercury I'd recommend to a newcomer that includes similar compositions by composers aligned with narrative Ives: https://www.amazon.com/Hanson-Condu...F8&qid=1528984900&sr=1-1&keywords=Ives+Hanson

The "other" Ives, the dissonant, atonal version, is less accessible to newcomers. Any adventurer may want to try out the 4th symphony. It is so complex it requires multiple directors.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

The 2nd symphony in the critical edition. Well played and recorded by Schermerhorn. Then go from there. He's original to be sure, but somehow never reaches my heart.


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## Eschbeg (Jul 25, 2012)

Michael Tilson Thomas has a couple of wonderful recordings of Ives. There is a Sony Classical recording of the Second and Third Symphonies from 1991 that is quite good, and an RCA recording called "An American Journey" from 2002 that is excellent. The latter album includes this brief gem of a piece:


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

This was the one I went for after sampling some of his music - with having all the symphonies together you get a chronological idea of what Ives was about. Sadly, this set is not as cheap as it was, but I recommend it if you see it on offer.


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## Colin M (May 31, 2018)

Thanks all for sending me in the right direction. I will say how much of my newfound fun and gratitude stems from your input and experience... Colin M


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

If you want to stretch out a little, Ingo Metzmacher has an Ives album with mostly orchestral but also a few vocal pieces. Metzmacher lets his musicians go nuts, and I think Ives would have been happy with how it came out.


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## Colin M (May 31, 2018)

Manxfeeder said:


> If you want to stretch out a little, Ingo Metzmacher has an Ives album with mostly orchestral but also a few vocal pieces. Metzmacher lets his musicians go nuts, and I think Ives would have been happy with how it came out.
> 
> View attachment 104716


Thanks for this. I think I will try it right now I feel so New to this music despite my age I have kept close to orchestras something familiar violin on the right and drums way in back. I want to learn the subtleties of the orchestra first of all it is such a beautiful sound and the 1900s and late 1800s keep calling


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Ives is truly interesting. One thing about him that works to your benefit is that he was not highly prolific, so there's not _that _much music to explore. Which means, essentially, that you can sample _all _of Ives in a relatively short time.

Good suggestions already abound.

My first Ives was something titled (by Ives himself, I believe) _Holidays Symphony_, which I discovered on a whim purchase on an old Turnabout vinyl LP featuring the Dallas Symphony Orchestra conducted by Donald Johanos.









It features four tone poems by Ives, all related to American holidays: "Washington's Birthday", "Decoration Day", "The Fourth of July", and "Thanksgiving and Forefathers' Day". These were written from 1897 to 1913 and correspond to the seasons. I can think of no better introduction to the music of Charles Ives than the _New England Holidays_, and I heartily recommend Donald Johanos's recording.


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## Guest (Jun 15, 2018)

_Robert Browning Overture_ is probably one of the other orchestral works I would quickly add to _Three Places in New England_ as being a great introduction and I guess even a kind of overview of his orchestral music neatly packed into a single composition.


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## Thomyum2 (Apr 18, 2018)

I recommend the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra's _A Set of Pieces_ CD from Deutsche Grammophon. In addition to the title piece, it includes the _3rd Symphony, Three Places In New England, Unanswered Question_ which other posts have mentioned. I like the quality of the performance and recording, and think it's a great sampling of Ives' work and captures the spirit of his music well - especially remarkable considering this is an orchestra that does not use a conductor.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I love Ives music, I really do. 

Central Park in the dark 
Symphony no 2
Concord Sonata 

Plus The Universe Symphony (even though it was incomplete), is up there with Scriabin's Mysterium and Sorabji's Jami Symphony! 

Are all amazing compositions!


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## Colin M (May 31, 2018)

elgars ghost said:


> This was the one I went for after sampling some of his music - with having all the symphonies together you get a chronological idea of what Ives was about. Sadly, this set is not as cheap as it was, but I recommend it if you see it on offer.


Just recieved symphony number 1 and 4 by Tillson in between solo hymns that both soggest and speak to Symphony Number 4. I love this! Colin M. Thank you for point the way


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

I prefer Bernstein on Ives, for the 2nd and 3rd, and all the other orchestral pieces (Holidays Symphony, Unanswered Question, etc.).


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

millionrainbows said:


> I prefer Bernstein on Ives, for the 2nd and 3rd, and all the other orchestral pieces (Holidays Symphony, Unanswered Question, etc.).


I have the Bernstein/NYPO DG disc of Ives' 2nd symphony and short orchestral works, just got it recently. Great performances all, but I admire the music more than I enjoy it. Central Park in the Dark is one of the freakiest pieces of music I've ever heard. The Unanswered Question is, of course, completely insane. Whenever I hear it all I can think about is what a twisted guy Ives must have been to write something like that. Unfair, perhaps, but...


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

flamencosketches said:


> Whenever I hear it all I can think about is what a twisted guy Ives must have been to write something like that. Unfair, perhaps, but...


For me Ives proved he can write good music in a more traditional vein (for example the first 3 symphonies), and sometimes chose to get more experimental and highly dissonant as well. Personally his music doesn't make me think of someone who is particularly twisted so much as someone who is aware of serious darkness underneath America's beautiful facade, and is expressing that. In that sense he reminds me a little of David Lynch, who on reflection perhaps in some ways does seem slightly twisted, yet also genuinely nice. To an extent maybe a lot of artists are like that. Perhaps it is the people always trying to maintain the facade we should be more concerned about.

"Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is." 
-Jung


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

tdc said:


> For me Ives proved he can write good music in a more traditional vein (for example the first 3 symphonies), and sometimes chose to get more experimental and highly dissonant as well. Personally his music doesn't make me think of someone who is particularly twisted so much as someone who is aware of serious darkness underneath America's beautiful facade, and is expressing that. In that sense he reminds me a little of David Lynch, who on reflection perhaps in some ways does seem slightly twisted, yet also genuinely nice. To an extent maybe a lot of artists are like that. Perhaps it is the people always trying to maintain the facade we should be more concerned about.
> 
> "Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is."
> -Jung


Yep, I think you just put it into words a lot better than I did. I don't mean twisted as in axe murderer/evil guy level, just a guy whose view of the world is just a little bit (or quite a bit) darker than most (so someone like me ) David Lynch is an extremely apt comparison. Both pieces I mentioned are totally Lynchian.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

The Second symphony with the short pieces conducted by Gunther Schuller is a great one to have. Also, there are different versions of The Unanswered Question, some with flutes, some without.

A couple of recommendations:















I played some Ives for a friend who was not a classical music fan, and he liked it a lot. He said it sounded like "ghosts from the Civil War."


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## nospoonboy (Jan 27, 2016)

As someone who named their son after Charles Ives...you could say I am a fan ;-)
I would echo others who have said to start with the 2nd and 3rd symphonies. I would suggest performances by either Bernstein or Litton to begin with. 
Then venture to the Unanswered Question and then to the 2nd Piano Sonata 'the Concord'...if you are still on board I would recommend listening to his Violin Sonatas (there are a lot of choices here...I prefer Stepner & Kirkpatrick).


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I like the Tilson Thomas symphonies 1 & 4 CD, and the Holiday symphonies disc.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

starthrower said:


> I like the Tilson Thomas symphonies 1 & 4 CD, and the Holiday symphonies disc.


Yes, I have those as well. His "Three Places in New England" on DG is a great accomplishment.



For me, The Holidays Symphony is my favorite Ives work.


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