# July 2015 Composers of the Month: Ives and Haas



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Okay guys. I have decided now that I have less custody of my daughter Izzy then I have more time to take up Haydn Man's project of the composer of the month that was started here: http://www.talkclassical.com/35327-composer-month-5.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Charles_Ives

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Friedrich_Haas

A few changes from the last attempt. I will post up the composers of the month a week before the listening sessions start in order to allow people here to buy/rent/find recordings on CD/iTunes/Amazon and mail order stuff to hear these guys.

I will be following the list that Haydn Man set up originally. If you have any suggestions for new composers please nominate in the OP thread.

Danke schon and thanks for participating. I would like to continue Haydn Man's original idea due to its educational and fun value.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I will update this tonight.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> I will update this tonight.


Okay I will post more info tonight. Seriously. Last night I got home too late.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Here you guys go... an Ives track for the folks here.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Tonight...


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Today's Ives track.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

A Haas track for tonight's choice:


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

I've only pretty recently explored Ives, and his second symphony has quickly become one of my favorites, while his third didn't impress me too much. I have 3 pieces of his on my to-listen list: his 4th symphony, his Concord Sonata, and Three Places in New England, and I look forward to finally listening to them in full this month.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Tonight's choice cut from the musical steakhouse.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2015)

But Albert, you did this one, already.

I fell in love with Ives instantly, and listened to everything I could find. And did it all in a very short time, too. That was a blast, of course, but I sometimes wish I could have gone about things a bit more slowly. A little more savoring; a little less greed. But Ives is so much fun; it's hard not to gorge.

Of course, I have listened, leisurely, over several decades since Bernstein introduced me--and thousands of other "young persons"--to _Washington's Birthday._ Good times.

Haas I don't know as well. He hasn't grabbed me particularly, but that's not a comment about Haas so much as a suggestion about myself. And myself is not nearly as interesting as the most boring composer ever. The only thing in my collection is _in vain,_ so it's nice to have youtube and the like. I'm listening to _limited approximations_ right this very second.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

some guy said:


> I'm listening to _limited approximations_ right this very second.


Its a pity we don't see you more on Current Listening. You'd be an interesting one to follow, and perhaps get the odd aside or off the cuff review.

It may also confound a few preconcieved or established notions about yourself in various quarters here


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2015)

Hey Simon, thanks for the kind words--who doesn't like being called interesting!!--though I must say (perhaps to my peril) that preconceived and established notions are exactly the kind that can never be confounded, certainly not with actual facts!

But yeah, world enough and time, and it would be fun for me, too, to do the Current Listening thing. I'll give it a look, but I'm warning you, if it sucks me in, I will probably be really really angry that you suggested it. Why, I'm feeling pretty angry already.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2015)

some guy said:


> Hey Simon, thanks for the kind words--who doesn't like being called interesting!!--though I must say (perhaps to my peril) that preconceived and established notions are exactly the kind that can never be confounded, certainly not with actual facts!
> 
> But yeah, world enough and time, and it would be fun for me, too, to do the Current Listening thing. I'll give it a look, but I'm warning you, if it sucks me in, I will probably be really really angry that you suggested it. Why, I'm feeling pretty angry already.


When will you and PetrB finally take me fishing (whilst imparting grumpy old man wisdom)?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

nathanb said:


> When will you and PetrB finally take me fishing (whilst imparting grumpy old man wisdom)?


Yeah I love fishing too!

Okay, a new Ives track for today then.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Today is the 4th of July so again we should celebrate Ives' legacy.


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## Trout (Apr 11, 2011)

I hate to point out the obvious, how about the 3rd movement of Ives's _Holidays Symphony_ for today?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Trout said:


> I hate to point out the obvious, how about the 3rd movement of Ives's _Holidays Symphony_ for today?


Hangs his head in shame. You're right.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

A new one for tonight:


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Today's Ives piece


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## Lord Lance (Nov 4, 2013)

Today's Ives Piece [Bear's Selection #1]:


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2015)

Albert7 said:


> Today's Ives piece


Slatkin, eh? Well I nevah. I had no idea. I feel I've lost touch with what the kids nowadays are doing.

Anyway, I have a lot of respect for Slatkin. Along with Ormandy, Slatkin has a penchant for doing non-mainstream repertory as if it were the best thing since sliced bread. I like his _Arcana_ as well as anyones. Better. Of course, by now, the 4th is pretty well established as "a masterpiece." Still, not that many people take it up. Dohnanyi was the biggest surprise. And surprisingly good, though perhaps a little too smooth. But that's an occupational hazard. If you take something wild and rough and keep doing it, pretty soon it's gonna seem just as smooth as Varese or Mahler or Berlioz or Beethoven.... You know.

The solution might be to find musicians who aren't quite good enough to play it and then push them to do as well as they can. That might work. Certainly in the Slatkin, there is no sense of struggle, of overcoming incredible obstacles. But that's not Slatkin. That's because those things just aren't obstacles any more. A dozen unrelated and uncoordinated things going on at once? Sure. We do that kind of thing all the time.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Haas with the piano composition today:


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## JimR (Jul 8, 2015)

I just joined Talk Classical because I found this thread and saw Haas featured. Excellent! But then I noticed there hasn't been a word of commentary comparing him and Ives, or any of these pieces. Are we meant to wait for the end of the week?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

JimR said:


> I just joined Talk Classical because I found this thread and saw Haas featured. Excellent! But then I noticed there hasn't been a word of commentary comparing him and Ives, or any of these pieces. Are we meant to wait for the end of the week?


Nope feel free to comment any time in this discussion. I am trying to catch up lots of listening in my backlog. Welcome to TC JimR!  Make your comparisons now if you wish.

I don't plan to comment until like the 3rd week of the month. Being I'm the moderator for the composer of the months, I want to hear what others have to say here .


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## JimR (Jul 8, 2015)

Hmm. I wrote a lengthy reply comparing the two in some ways and didn't realize my log-in had lapsed. In brief, I said
a) I'd better not comment on specific pieces until I had listened to all your posts;
b) however, both composers stretched the performance characteristics of their compositions for their respective periods (if you haven't heard In Vain live, it's quite different from listening at home); and
c) for their times, Ives was the more iconoclastic and Haas the more conventional, since his work is related to a fairly well established spectralist school.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

A short but great piece by Ives tonight:


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Today's piece from Haas:


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I love this collab. I own this disc too.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

An odd piece from Haas.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I can´t decide if Haas music is wonderful or just strange and scary or maybe all three.
It is at least very fascinating.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Sloe said:


> I can´t decide if Haas music is wonderful or just strange and scary or maybe all three.
> It is at least very fascinating.


Some unusual lyric music from Ives tonight:


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

Albert7 said:


> Some unusual lyric music from Ives tonight:


Love this piece. ...


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

Also, I suppose I could have written this in Ives' guestbook, but there is enough of me in there.

So, since I just re-listened to this work recently, I will admit, quite frankly, that Ives' *First Quartet* gives me the fantods. Maybe a very standard work in general, but that coda is anything but. Seriously, all the voices are singing their own hymns. How fantastic and peculiar! Gosh, so very special, to say the least.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Thanks septimaltritone for helping me dig up this one for tonight:


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

We are now halfway through this month and I need to do more listening for these guys. Next month will be easier.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

6 more days... nothing tonight but tomorrow for sure.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Tonight I got too busy but tomorrow I will post up something.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Albert7 said:


> Next month will be easier.


Why? Because you're going to do rap or jazz instead? :devil:


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

I take the Oregon Bar exam in 24 hours, so what the hell, this is fitting.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Avey said:


> I take the Oregon Bar exam in 24 hours, so what the hell, this is fitting.


Good luck to you!


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## Lord Lance (Nov 4, 2013)

*Bear's Selection #2*


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