Charles Ives's massive Concord Sonata, his second sonata for piano, named after the town of Concord in Massachusetts, is central to his output and clearly reflects his aesthetic perspective. Geoffrey Block's wide-ranging 1996 account of the work thus provides an ideal introduction to this fascinating composer. As well as a discussion of the Sonata's reception history from 1920 to the time of publication, and a chapter on its compositional genesis, this handbook includes a detailed narrative of the motivic content as well as a historical and analytical survey of the work's borrowings, both certifiable and newly proposed. The programmatic element of the Sonata is explored in the context of Ives's personal vision of four literary subjects associated with the town of Concord between 1840 and 1860: Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and the Alcotts.

Charles Ives' massive Concord Sonata, his second sonata for piano, named after the town of Concord in Massachusetts, is central to his output and clearly reflects his aesthetic perspective. Geoffrey Block's wide-ranging account of the work thus provides an ideal introduction to this fascinating composer. This handbook discusses the Sonata's reception history and its compositional genesis, as well as providing a detailed account of the work's thematic content, its use of borrowed material, and the degree to which the program is influenced by the Concord Transcendentalists.

Among Brahms's three piano sonatas, the first one he composed was No. 2, Op. 2, which is less frequently performed and viewed less satisfactory in comparison to the third. Previous discussions of this piece concentrate on the overwhelming virtuosity. Understandably, this virtuosity creates tremendous challenges to pianists. This document provides a performer's guide to this sonata by examining the virtuosity as it relates to form and expression, and also by creating suggestions for practice and performance. Students, teachers, and performers can benefit from this study on a piece that is typically neglected in research and repertoire lists in favor of the more famous Sonata No. 3.

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.

Central to the evolution of American music is the legacy of Charles Ives. This grand-scale reference work provides details surrounding the multifarious responses to the achievement of this singular businessman/musician for more than a century. Performances, recordings, journalistic reports, reviews, and scholarly studies of all kinds as well as assorted Ivesiana in the form of literature, art, film, dance, and other expressions of homage are included. Many of the entries are amplified with contextual information or carefully selected excerpts. Professor Burk has been an enthusiastic connoisseur of Ives's music and a thoughtful student of the Ives literature for many years; his systematic presentation results in much more than a glorified work list or another ambitious bibliography.