works of Ives, Zimmermann, Finnissy, Tenney, Corbett, Schneller
Charles Ives
1. Study No. 21: Some Southpaw Pitching! (2:15)
Walter Zimmermann
2. the missing nail at the river for piano & toy piano (5:50)
Charles Ives
Set of Five Take-Offs (11:55)
3. i. The Seen and Unseen?
4. ii. Rough and Ready et al
5. iii. Song Without (Good) Words
6. iv. Scene Episode
7. v. Bad Resolutions and Good WAN!
Sidney Corbett
8. The Celestial Potato Fields (10:07)
Charles Ives
9. From Four Transcriptions from “Emerson” ii. Moderato (3:47)
James Tenney
10. Essay (after a sonata) for inside piano (11:30)
Charles Ives
11. From Four Transcriptions from “Emerson” iii. Largo (2:35)
2. Study No. 9: The Anti-Abolitionist Riots in the 1830’s and 1840’s (3:22)
Michael Finnissy
13. Song Of Myself (11:07)
Charles Ives
14. London Bridge Is Fallen Down! (1:03)
Oliver Schneller
15. “And tomorrow…” for piano & electronics (5:41)
“Responses to Ives” was conceived in 2003 by pianist Heather O’Donnell as a way to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of Charles Ives’s death (May 19, 2004). She approached composers spanning a generation, known to have strong affinities for Ives and asked them to write a “musical reflection” on the presence of Ives in their lives and work.
The set was premiered at the MaerzMusik Festival in Berlin in 2004 in the midst of a twelve hour extravaganza of Ives. In the months following repeat performances took place in South Africa, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the U.S.
The CD includes the first recording of Ives’ London Bridge is Falling Down!
O’Donnell intersperses short, and often less known, works of Ives with the contemporary composers’ “responses”, all of which are first recordings. The “responses” could not be more varied from each other — from introspective to virtuostic to meditative to extended techniques.
Original high-resolution DSD recording.
Liner notes by Heather O’Donnell.