Who & what influenced Ives music?
Ives’ father, first and foremost, exerted a greater influence on Ives than anyone else. George Ives laid the groundwork for Ives revolutionary approach to music, his incredible openness to new sounds. As a result of his upbringing, Ives music incorporated sounds from very disparate musical streams. Peter Burkholder describes the four musical traditions that Ives drew from and eventually synthesized as: 1.) American Popular music, 2.) Protestant Church music, 3.) European Classical music, and 4.) Experimental music. (Quoted from Charles Ives and His World, Edited by Burkholder, Princeton University Press, 1996). Ives’ wife Harmony was a tremendous influence on Ives. After their marriage, Ives compositions changed dramatically for the better. It is impossible to imagine Ives’ lonely composing career without Harmony’s support. Horatio Parker, Ives’ music teacher at Yale University, was influential in Ives’ life, even though Ives tended to underplay his significance. Of European composers,
