© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

Celebrating the Music of Composer Charles Ives

Composer Charles Ives died 50 years ago Wednesday. Though Ives is now widely recognized as one of America's most important composers, his work was not performed during his most creative years. Biographer Jan Swafford says Charles Ives was a "Walt Whitman of sound," able to write pieces in traditional European styles, but with an American accent. Swafford has a remembrance.

Copyright 2004 NPR

Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.