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