ALL THE WRONG NOTES: CHARLES IVES at 150
October 20 - November 12, 2024
Cornell University
In four concerts, ALL THE WRONG NOTES: CHARLES IVES AT 150 celebrated the 150th anniversary of composer, pianist, organist, actuary, and businessman Charles Ives. Described variously as “gibberish,” “impossible,” like “awfully indigestible food,” Ives’ works draw directly from European techniques, suffusing them with the spirit and sounds of early 20th-century America. His musical agenda might best be summed up by the Connecticut minister who insisted on programming Ives over the protests of his congregation, blithely retorting: “After all, God gets awfully tired of hearing the same thing over and over again.”
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I: Gilbert Kalish plays Ives' First Sonata
Oct. 20, 2024 • Beloved American pianist Gilbert Kalish opens the festival on Ives’ 150th birthday with the First Piano Sonata, alongside a selection of songs performed by Rachel Schutz and Xak Bjerken.
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II: KJ McDonald & Ariel Mo: Complete Violin Sonatas
Oct. 25, 2024 • Violinist K.J. McDonald from Boston’s New England Conservatory joins pianist Ariel Mo in this recital of the complete violin sonatas.
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III: Music for quarter-tone pianos
Oct. 31, 2024 • Thomas Feng and Jack Yarbrough present Ives’ Three Quarter-Tone Piecesfor two pianos, one de-tuned by a quarter-tone. Bookending the Ives will be two solo works from Tui St. George Tucker and Georg Friedrich Haas, each played by one pianist on two pianos simultaneously. Now, how does that work?
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IV: Music for piano PLUS
Nov. 12, 2024 • ALL THE WRONG NOTES: Charles Ives at 150 concludes on Nov. 12 with Charles Ives’ rambunctious Piano Trio, performed by Boston-based Trio Gaia. Also on the program are works by Rzewski, Ives, and a world premiere by Jasmine Morris. Featuring Xak Bjerken, Isaac Dorio, Federico Ercoli, Grant Houston, and Ariel Mo.
videos & photos
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This event was made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Cornell Department of Music, Ensemble X, Cornell Council for the Arts, Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards, and the Society for the Humanities.