THE UNANSWERED QUESTION

CHARLES IVES
CHARLES IVES
 ABOUT CHARLES

-His father:
Openmided musician
polytonal singing

-Church organist at the age of 14

-Studied in Yale University

-His symphony 1 was his thesis

 ABOUT CHARLES

-In 1907, after the bankruptcy of Raymond & Co. he and his friend Julian W.
Myrick formed their own insurance agency Ives & Co.

-In 1907, Ives suffered the first of several "heart attacks" (as he and his family
considered them).

-These attacks may have been more psychological than physical in origin.

-Upon recovering from his 1907 attack, Ives entered one of the most creative
periods of his life as a composer.
 ABOUT CHARLES

-He married Harmony Twitchell in 1908.

-Last work the song Sunrise in August 1926.

-“nothing sounds right” 1927

-revise and refine his earlier work, and premieres of his music

-He died in 1954

 THE UNANSWERED QUESTION

-Composed in 1908

-Trumpet, four flutes and string quartet

-Mature sound world

-Personal style

-Orquestal version
 INSTRUMENTATION

3 layers:

1. The strings (placed offstage) play very soft chorale-like

2. The trumpet (placed behind the auditorium) plays several times a

brief motif

3. Strident attack from the flutes (onstage)

 LINK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toloih4gZss

Orquestal
 THE FORM

-1 whole

-6 parts
 RETHORICAL MEANING

The piece is a "cosmic landscape”.

"the silence of the druids, who know not, see not, nor hear anything".

“the Eternal Question of Existence.”

-"the invisible answer" they abandon it in frustration,

In the end it is answered only by silence.

 THE UNANSWERED QUESTION

Jan Swafford: ”a kind of collage on three distinct, roughly

coordinated levels. "Each level has its own tempo and key.

He later wrote an orchestral version that would become one of his

most popular works.

The original version was only premiered after his death.

 RECEPCION OF HIS MUSIC

-Ignored during his lifetime

-many of his works remained unplayed

-Difficulties in executing the rhythmic complexities

-his famous comment "Use your ears like men!”

-Ives was interested in public reception, but on his own terms.

-Arnold Schoenberg, who considered it a monument to artistic integrity

THE END
Thanks for your attention