Complete Sonatas for Violin & Piano
Ives's music ranges from the conservatively tonal to the wildly experimental. The four violin sonatas contain examples of both types, as well as those typically Ivesian collage pieces in which every New England hymn and march tune known to mankind gets thrown together in sort of a musical tossed salad. They also range wildly in length, from the 11 minute Fourth Sonata, subtitledChildren's Day at the Camp Meeting(a haunting meditation on Protestant hymn tunes related to the Third Symphony) to the 30-minute-long Third Sonata. Altogether, they represent the most distinguished contribution to this particular genre by an American composer, and they are sensationally performed and recorded here. A classic set.--David Hurwitz