Photo: Clara Sipprell / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Charles Ives is one of the most genuinely fascinating figures in all of American music, and honestly he deserves way more name recognition than he gets outside classical circles. Here was a guy who spent his days crunching actuarial tables at an insurance company and his nights writing music that was decades ahead of its time — layered dissonances, polytonality, colliding march bands, hymns crashing into each other like he was soundtracking the chaos of American life itself. His peers had no idea what to make of him, and he barely cared; he just kept writing. The Pulitzer for Symphony No. 3 finally arrived in 1947 when he was 72, which is both wonderful and a little heartbreaking. A genuine American original who had to wait a lifetime for the world to catch up.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Charles Ives
- Name (Japanese)
- チャールズ・アイヴズ
- Reading
- ちゃーるず・あいゔず
- Born
- October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Dog
- Origin
- Danbury, Connecticut, United States
- Occupation
- actuary / composer
2. Background
- University
- Yale University
Awards & achievements
- 1947 Pulitzer Prize for Music
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Variations on "America" | — | |
| Notable work | Symphony No. 3 | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Charles Ives born?
October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954.
Where is Charles Ives from?
Charles Ives is from Danbury, Connecticut, United States.
What does Charles Ives do?
Charles Ives works as actuary, composer.
What is Charles Ives known for?
Notable works include Variations on "America", Symphony No. 3.
Composer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.