Robert Clements wrote:

>The literalness of Ives's use of musical quotation (even when he's being
>ironic) puts him firmly in the romantic tradition - there's no collaging;
>& no sense of aesthetic difference between the quote & sourced material.

Robert, if you had ended that sentence with "...NOT!", then I would have
agreed.  When you're listening to Ives's quotations, are you listening
to the music being quoted, or are you listening Ives? (Hint:  the correct
answer is the latter).  And yes, there *is* collaging (e.g.  2nd mvt 4th
symphony, "Country Band March), and I get a sense that there *is* an
aesthetic difference between the quote and the sourced material.  When
I hear Ives's music, I hear Ives's aesthetic, and I also hear, somewhat,
the roots of his aesthetic (i.e.  the sourced material).

I get the impression that Ives wasn't consious about his place in musical
geneology.  Btw, didn't he use 12-tone rows ("Chromatimelodtune") before
Schoenberg? Actually (and I know I'll get in trouble for saying this), I
kind of think of Ives as an impressionist in some ways.

Mike