Ives's Symphony No. 3, 'The Camp Meeting', had its origins in three lost organ pieces he composed at Central Presbyterian Church.
Compositional Technique
For Symphony No. 3, Ives was inspired by his father's trick of having the bells of three local churches in Danbury, Connecticut, rung simultaneously, their combined pitches approximating two unrelated minor triads.
Composer Biography
Charles Ives, the composer, worked as a professional organist at the Central Presbyterian Church in New York from 1900 to 1902, where he experimented creatively at the keyboard.
Critical Reception
Ives's Symphony No. 3 was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1947, the same year its score was first published.
Compositional Technique
Ives's Symphony No. 4 requires substantial forces, including a chorus, a 'distant choir' of five solo violins and harp, saxophones, three pianos (one tuned in quarter tones), celeste, organ, and a mysterious 'ether organ'.
Composition History
The third movement of Orchestral Set No. 2, 'From Hanover Square North, at the End of a Tragic Day, the Voice of the People Again Arose', commemorates the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915.
Composition History
Gustav Mahler, while conducting the New York Philharmonic, was intrigued by Ives's Symphony No. 3 and took the score back to Vienna, after which it was never seen again.
