Charles Ives and His Road to the Stars

Book excerpt: NEW for 2015--REVISED & UPDATED Edition In 'Charles Ives and his Road to the Stars, ' Antony Cooke brings a fresh new approach to the music of America's iconic composer in this accessible account of what lay behind the music of this modern titan. It has been over a quarter of a century since the period of destructive revisionism impacted his ascending star, leading to the much-touted "reassessment" of his contributions. With a comprehensive approach and detailed examination of a broad cross section of the music itself, the real Ives is revealed, the many myths, misconceptions, faulty impressions, and incorrect conclusions at long last stripped away. With clear indications that Ives encoded into his music a spiritual link to the cosmos, the special destination and purpose leading to his legendary and almost tragically mythic Universe Symphony finally become clear, this focal work receiving an in-depth examination. If all too often the composer has been kept from the broader public by an elitism that Ives would have abhorred, or by many tangled biographic analyses that reveal more about the writers than they do about Ives. Cooke steers the reader toward a clear understanding of this iconic figure-an American treasure, one whose music and life brings vividly to mind the almost forgotten time of the golden age of America's emergence as a dominant presence with a cultural identity finally separated from the Old World across the Atlantic. Linked to a broad cross section of his music, the reader is guided through Ives's unique musical language, and what lay behind it. Exposing the many myths, untruths, misconceptions, faulty impressions, and incorrect conclusions along the way, Ives is treated with a respect earned, but often denied.