Date: Fri 24-Oct-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Ives-USPS-Eriquez-stamp

Full Text:

Charles Ives Is Finally Given A Stamp Of Approval

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

DANBURY -- To cap off a weekend of activities celebrating the 123rd

anniversary of the birthday of American composer Charles, the United States

Postal Service hosted a special stamp cancellation ceremony on Monday morning.

The October 20 ceremony, held at the Ives Birthplace museum, recognized one of

the newest figures of American history to be chosen by the USPS for the

distinguished honor of being depicted on a national postage stamp.

Jo Saunders, the USPS state district manager for customer service and sales,

was one of the invited guests who spoke at the hour-long ceremony. "We decided

to begin focusing on people who are more personal, more connected to the

population of America," Ms Saunders told those gathered. "These [Legend of

Music] stamps pay tribute to eight of America's most talented musicians."

The Charles Ives stamp was initially released in September, one of eight in

the postal services' Legends of Music series. The series also honors the

conductors Arthur Fiedler, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowsky and George Szell,

and the composers Samuel Barber, Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Ferde Grofe.

The series was unveiled as a collection on September 12, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The September release coincided with the opening of the Classical Music Hall

of Fame in Cincinnati.

The special cancellation ceremony this week in Danbury took place on what

would have been the 123rd anniversary of Ives' birth, and the fiftieth

anniversary of the composer being presented the Pulitzer Prize for his Third

Symphony .

Known as the "Father of American Music," Charles Ives was born in Danbury on

October 20, 1874, at 172 Main Street. His birthplace was later relocated to

its present location, at 5 Mountainville Avenue. (In a very unusual move, the

National Register of Historic Places accepted the Ives Homestead for inclusion

on its distinctive listing even though the building itself has been relocated

at least twice.)

Charles Ives found inspiration in the sights and sounds of his native Danbury.

The composition "From The Steeples And Mountains" is said to have been

inspired by the hymns, pump organ and sometimes out-of-tune bells of the First

Congregational Church, once located at 220 Main Street. His earliest education

in music came from watching the marching bands led by his father George, a

Civil War bandleader. Charles Ives' mother, Mary Parmalee, was the daughter of

a church chorister.

George Ives was always experimenting with sounds and performing styles,

situating bands in different locations to perform simultaneously, or sending

marching band members in different locations. Undoubtedly, this had a lot of

influence on his young, imaginative son, Charles.

In composing, Charles Ives used folk tunes familiar to Danburians -- and

fellow Americans -- and incorporated such music into his symphonies. While the

result was uniquely American, his music did not meet with immediate acclaim in

either Danbury or his home country. It was European audiences who first

accepted his music with enthusiasm.

A man who had was Lt Gov Jodi Rell called "marginal success" (in a

proclamation read on Monday) with his compositions during his lifetime, Ives

was always a weekend composer. He made his living selling insurance. He

co-founded an insurance company with partner Julian Myrick in 1907, and became

very well known in the industry for his innovative ideas. Ives is credited

with introducing the concept of estate planning.

It is ironic that while Ives died a wealthy man -- from his dealings in the

insurance business -- he was never fully honored or recognized for his musical

genius until long after his death.

Ives wrote his Pulitzer-winning symphony between the years 1901 and 1904, but

it was not premiered until 1946, when Lou Harrison conducted a performance of

the piece at Carnegie Chamber Music Hall. A heart attack nearly three decades

prior had severely curtailed Ives' creative enterprises.

In 1974, two decades after Ives' death, the conductor Leonard Bernstein, with

Michael Tilson Thomas, conducted a performance of Ives' music at a centennial

celebration of Ives' birthday, held at the Danbury Fairgrounds.

It is felt that this was a reintroduction for many Danbury -- and state, and

national -- residents to the artistry of Charles Ives. Ives was named

Connecticut's state composer in 1991.