In 1921, insurance executive Charles Ives sent out copies of a piano sonata to two hundred strangers. Laden with dissonant chords, complex rhythm, and a seemingly chaotic structure, the so-called Concord Sonata confounded the recipients, as did the accompanying book, Essays before a Sonata . Kyle Gann merges exhaustive research

Charles Ives is widely regarded as the first great American composer of classical music. But listening to his music is an adventure—hearing how a piece begins may not prepare you for what comes next, or how it ends. Knowing one Ives piece may not prepare you for another. Award-winning music

This research guide provides detailed information on over one thousand publications and websites concerning the American composer Charles Ives. With informative annotations and nearly two hundred new entries, this greatly expanded, updated, and revised guide offers a key survey of the field for interested readers and experienced researchers alike.

Charles Ives Reconsidered re-examines a number of critical assumptions about the life and works of this significant American composer, drawing on many new sources to explore Ives's creative activities within broader historical, social, cultural, and musical perspectives. Gayle Sherwood Magee portrays Ives's life, career and posthumous legacy against the backdrop

Books about An Improvisational Reading of Charles Ives's Concord Sonata