Charles Ives - Concordance (John Kirkpatrick; Donald Berman)

Information

1. Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860”: I. Emerson (Live)
2. Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860”: II. Hawthorne (Live)
3. Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860”: III. The Alcotts (Live)
4. Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860”: IV. Thoreau (Live)
5. Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860”: I. Emerson (Live)
6. Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860”: II. Hawthorne (Live)
7. Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860”: III. The Alcotts (Live)
8. Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass. 1840-1860”: IV. Thoreau (Live)
9. Eve Beglarian - As Syllable From Sound (Live)
10. David Sanford - Underground (Live)
11. Marti Epstein - The Piano at the Palace Beautiful (Live)
12. Elena Ruehr - Summer on the Lakes, in 1843 (Live)

John Kirkpatrick, piano (tracks 1-4, 1974 recording)

Donald Berman, piano (tracks 5-12, 2025 recording)

Date: 2026

Label: Owsley Stanley Foundation

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This release offers a compelling comparative study of Charles Ives's formidable Concord Mass. Sonata, pairing John Kirkpatrick's 1974 studio recording with Donald Berman's 2025 live performance. While Kirkpatrick delivers a wild, contrasting interpretation that leans into immediate dramatic moments, Berman takes a pensive, deliberate approach, prioritizing overall architecture and long melodic lines across the four movements. The album highlights Ives's signature complex layering, ranging from extreme dynamic swings and hymn quotations to chaotic textures and parlor music imitations. Recorded live with excellent acoustic clarity, the release also showcases Berman navigating several single-movement character studies with distinct interpretive focus and control.

John Kirkpatrick (1905–1991) was an American classical pianist, music scholar, and professor emeritus at Yale University, renowned for championing American modernist composers like Aaron Copland, Carl Ruggles, and Roy Harris. He played a pivotal role in the career of Charles Ives by delivering the groundbreaking 1939 premiere of Ives's Concord Sonata, a performance that catalyzed widespread recognition for the composer. As a leading Ives scholar and curator of the Charles Ives archives at Yale, Kirkpatrick edited Ives's autobiographical Memos and served as a prominent figure in the Charles Ives Society, leaving a lasting legacy in 20th-century American music scholarship.

Donald Berman is an acclaimed American pianist and scholar who has spent over three decades at the forefront of contemporary music performance and research. He serves as Chair of Keyboard Studies at Longy School of Music of Bard College and President of The Charles Ives Society, where he edited a major three-volume edition of Ives’s piano music. Berman’s extensive discography highlights pioneering recordings of modern masterworks, including The Unknown Ives, The Uncovered Ruggles, and Americans in Rome, alongside solo, vocal, and concerto recordings on prominent labels such as New World, Bridge, and Naxos.