Charles Ives (1874-1954) was a late-Romantic composer with an important spiritual statement to make. His polyrhythms, 'dissonance', etc, were only parts of the even more adventurous techniques he used in getting closer to the specific streams of mind and soul he sought to communicate the soul of America itself. Symphony No. 1 in D minor, written between 1898 and 1902, is an example of how Ives synthesised ideas from composers who came before him. This symphony is composed in the late-Romantic European tradition, and is believed to contain many paraphrases from famous European pieces such as Tchaikovsky's Path?tique and Schubert's Unfinished symphonies and especially Dvo ?k's New World Symphony. The Symphony No. 4 was written between 1910 and the mid-1920s. The symphony is notable for its multi layered complexity typically requiring two conductors in performance and for its large and varied orchestration. Combining elements and techniques of Ives's previous compositional work, this has been called 'one of his most definitive works'; Ives' biographer, Jan Swafford, has called it 'Ives's climactic masterpiece'. TRACKLIST: Ives: Symphony no. 1 1. Allegro (11:45) 2. Adagio molto (sostenuto) (6:46) 3. Scherzo: Vivace (4:29) 4. Allegro molto (12:43) Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas Hymns* (quoted by Ives in his Fourth Symphony) 5. Sweet by and by (1:45) 6. Beulah land (Organ solo) (0:57) 7. Ye Christian heralds (1:09) 8. Jesus, Lover of My Soul (1:49) 9. Nearer, My God, To thee (2:01). Ives: Symphony no. 4 10. Prelude: Maestoso (3:50) 11. Comedy: Allegretto (11:39) 12. Fugue: Andante moderato con moto (7:34) 13. Finale: Very slowly; Largo maestoso (10:30).
