Composers' Voices from Ives to Ellington: An Oral History of American Music

506 Pages·2005·1.95 MB·English

by  Vivian Perlis

Composers’ Voices
from Ives to Ellington

Composers’ Voices
from Ives to Ellington
An Oral History of American Music
Vivian Perlis and Libby Van Cleve
Yale University Press New Haven & London
Copyright © 2005 by Vivian Perlis and Libby Van Cleve.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond
that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers
for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.
Designed by James J. Johnson and set in Fairfield Medium type by Integrated Publishing Solutions
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Perlis, Vivian.
Composers’voices from Ives to Ellington : an oral history of American music /
Vivian Perlis and Libby Van Cleve
p. cm.—(An oral history of Amrican music)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-300-10673-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Composers—United States—20th century—Interviews. 2. Jazz musicians—United States—20th
century—Interviews. I. Van Cleve, Libby. II. Title. III. Series.
ML390.P37 2005
780(cid:2).9(cid:2)04—dc22 2005000361
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Passin’it down—passin’it down to the young ’uns—
—EUBIE BLAKE on oral history
i
For the young ’uns:
Nola Vees
Morgan, Steve, and Ben Perlis
Charlie and Melanie Ambler

Contents
i
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Comments on Oral History xvii
ONE. Introducing the Century: 1 January 1900 1
CHARLES IVES 8
TWO. On Ragtime and Eubie Blake 47
THREE. From the Early Modernists 67
LEO ORNSTEIN 71
EDGARD VARÈSE 94
CARL RUGGLES 117
DANE RUDHYAR 127