Ives wrote these to explain what the four movements of his Concord Sonata were reaching for: Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts and Thoreau, each taken as a way of hearing. It is also the most quotable American writing on music — on substance and manner, on ears that are afraid, and on what a listener owes a piece.
America’s most original composer, explaining himself. Download the free EPUB.