American Academy of Arts and Letters Announces the Opening of THE CHARLES IVES STUDIO
On Thursday, March 6, 2014, the newly recreated Charles Ives Studio and accompanying exhibition will open in the galleries of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City (Audubon Terrace on Broadway between 155 and 156 Streets).
The studio is a faithful replica of the room originally located on the ground floor of the Ives home in Redding, CT, where the renowned American composer Charles Ives worked for the last forty years of his life. It was there, on the studio's modest upright piano, that Ives composed and finished several of his major works, including Three Places in New England, The Fourth Symphony, The Second Orchestral Set, The Fourth Violin Sonata, and about 40 songs.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters was established in 1898 to "foster, assist, and sustain an interest in literature, music, and the fine arts." Election to the Academy is one of the highest formal recognitions of artistic merit in this country, and current members are 250 of America's leading voices in Art, Architecture, Literature, and Music. Each year the Academy awards over 60 prizes, and presents exhibitions of art, architecture, and manuscripts, and readings of new musicals. It is located in three landmark buildings on Audubon Terrace in New York City.
The modernist composer Charles Ives (1874 - 1954) was elected to the Academy in 1946. In 1969, his widow, Harmony Ives, bequeathed to the Academy the royalties to his music. Since then, royalty income has funded over 250 scholarships and fellowships in music composition, including the Ives Living, which gives a promising talent $100,000 a year for two years.
