Timothy Johnson, assistant professor of music and chair of graduate studies in music, has published a book entitled, Baseball and the Music of Charles Ives: A Proving Ground (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2004).
This book discusses the composer's interest in baseball that extended throughout his life, his writings that include references to baseball, and most importantly his musical compositions about baseball and baseball players. Ives's sketches and pieces about baseball include music about backyard ballgames as well as Hall-of-Fame ballplayers -- Johnny Evers, Wee Willie Keeler, and Rube Waddell. Johnson provides full historical contexts for these pieces, discusses how they provide unique information about a turn-of-the-twentieth-century baseball fan, and presents extensive analyses of the music. Photographs and musical examples illustrate the discussion. The book is intended for an audience of both musicians and non-musicians.
For more information, see:
Scarecrow Press, Inc., Baseball and the Music of Charles Ives: A Proving Ground
Timothy A. Johnson
Contributed by Timothy Johnson
