A Portrait of Charles Ives

Charles Ives is one of the most original and pioneering musical figures of the United States. Interested both in advanced composing techniques and in non-classical music, he is often seen to prefigure the post-war avant-gardes. His atonal and micro-tonal experiments, his practice in collage and reinterpretation of popular tunes inspired such composers as Bernard Herrmann or Frank Zappa. In 1991, modern music champion Ingo Metzmacher recorded with the Ensemble Modern a collection of pieces (including songs and pages of his celebrated Sets for chamber orchestra) that demonstrates Ives’ unique personality.