Charles Ives
Charles Ives may be the most important American composer you’ve never heard of. An eccentric, reclusive figure whose music often treads the line between lyrical beauty and pure noise, his work inspired an entire generation of composers, but never quite captured the public imagination in the same way as the music of American figureheads like Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber. For most of his life, Ives lived a modest existence, selling insurance by day and writing music by night. Active in the decades before and after the turn of the 20th century, he penned hundreds of compositions, ranging from solo piano pieces to works for full orchestra.
This week, from May 6 to 8, the University of Washington shines the spotlight on Ives with three days of lectures and performance exploring the composer’s life and work. Organized by UW School of Music professor Larry Starr, “A Festival of Ives” kicked off yesterday with a performance by the UW Symphony, conducted by Jonathan Pasternack. The highlight of the evening was an appearance by baritone William Sharp, who joined the orchestra for Ives’ Orchestral Songs. An acclaimed devotee of modern American composers, particularly Ives, Sharp is in town for all three days of the festival, presenting performances each evening.