Suburban New Jersey, 1991. My parents’ record collection contained a disc from the 1950s of Charles Ives’s chamber pieces and songs—surely one of the first recordings made of this astonishing composer’s work. From that entire memorable LP, which I played virtually on repeat, one track stood out: “The Pond,” for voice and chamber orchestra. The text: “A song of a distant horn / O’er shadowed lake is born / My father’s song.” Lasting one minute and five seconds, the music opened a world to me. In retrospect, it paved the way to my entire life in contemporary music.
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