The calendar information incorporated here is edited and simplified from that in the official A Descriptive Catalogue of the Music of Charles Ives by James B. Sinclair (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999). Some uncertain information has been resolved to the best guess solution.
Some anniversary information is not assignable to a day. Click below to jump to those particular year-entries:
Some anniversary information is assignable only to a seasonal period and is given here:
| Spring | 1897 | Horatio Parker leads the New Haven Orchestra in a reading of Postlude in F, New Haven, Conn. |
| 1914 | Ives plays Emerson and part of Hawthorne mvts. of Sonata No. 2 for Piano: Concord, Mass. at an "impromptu" church concert, New York City | |
| 1915 | Globe Theater (New York City) orchestra reads Washington’s Birthday (2nd occasion) | |
| Summer | 1887 | Date on manuscript: sketch of song Slow March |
| 1893 | Date on manuscript: Mrs. Smyth (S) tries Song for Harvest Season, at the new Baptist Church, Danbury, Conn. | |
| 1911 | Date on manuscript: Robert Browning Overture, full score "finished" | |
| 1912 | Date on manuscript: Emerson [mvt. i of Sonata No. 2 for Piano: Concord, Mass.] "completed" | |
| 1914 | Date on manuscript: Symphony No. 4, mvt. iv, "finished" | |
| 1923 | Ives visits T. Carl Whitmer’s "Dramamount" estate (near Newburgh, NY) probably curious about the possibilities of Universe Symphony being performed there. | |
| 1929 | Mary Evelyn Stiles at West Redding; Ives harmonizes song In the Mornin’. | |
| 1951 | First recording: Central Park in the Dark, Hallowe’en, Scherzo: Over the Pavements, and The Unanswered Question (The Polymusic Chamber Orchestra, cond. by Will Lorin [under the name "Vladimir Cherniavsky"] with the assistance in the latter work of Dr. Joseph Baroné), and Largo for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (David Weber [cl], Elliot Magaziner [vn], and Frank Glazer [pf]), for the Polymusic label; issued 1951) | |
| 1960 | First recording: organ Variations on "America" (E. Power Biggs on the Thayer/Hutchings-Plaisted organ in the First Universalist Church, Woodstock, Vermont; issued in 1960 by Columbia Records) | |
| 1968 | First recording: From the Steeples and the Mountains and song Song for Harvest Season (Jan DeGaetani [Mez], The American Brass Quintet; issued 1969 by Nonesuch) | |
| Fall | 1910 | Premiere: Music Settlement School Orchestra (New York City), cond. by Edgar Stowell, performs part or all of mvt i of Symphony No. 2 |
| 1912 | Ives plays Emerson and part of Hawthorne [mvts. i–ii of Sonata No. 2 for Piano: Concord, Mass.] for Yale classmate Max Smith | |
| 1946 | First recording: String Quartet No. 2 (Walden String Quartet; for the Disc label, issued c1947) |
Non-date specific anniversary information:
| 1822 | Birth of James S. Pierpont, composer of "Jingle Bells," at Boston, Mass. (He was the uncle of millionaire financier John Pierpont Morgan.) Ives quoted "Jingle Bells" in Orchestral Set No. 3, mvt. ii ("An Afternoon"). |
| 1895 | Premiere: song My Native Land [I] (Julian Nolan, unidentified voice), at a Yale Glee Club reception, probably in New Haven. |
| 1896 | First publication: choral For You and Me!, Molineux’ Collection of Part Songs and Choruses for Male Voices, No. 966. New York: Geo. Molineux |
| First publication: March "Intercollegiate", Philadelphia: "Pepper & Co." | |
| First publication: song William Will ("A Republican Campaign Song"), New York: Willis Woodward and Company | |
| 1897 | Hyperion Theatre Orchestra, cond. by Frank Fichtl?, reads mvt ii and part of mvt iv of Symphony No. 1 (probably early versions of the material) |
| 1903 | First publication: choral The Bells of Yale, New Haven: Thomas G. Shepard (in Yale Melodies) |
| 1915 | Central Presbyterian Church moves and discards (now and/or in its move in 1929) its choir library manuscripts including sacred music Ives had left there. |
| 1916 | Lithograph printing of Greinert’s copy of Sonata No. 4 for Violin and Piano, with all four mvts. |
| 1927 | Harmony’s recollection: "He came down stairs one day with tears in his eyes and said he couldn’t seem to compose any more—nothing went well—nothing sounded right." After this point Ives never started another fresh composition but aimed all his musical activity at revising, finishing, and publishing. |
| 1929 | see 1915 |
| 1933 | First publication: Four Songs, New York: Mercury Music |
| early 1938 | First recording: songs Ann Street, Charlie Rutlage, Evening, The Greatest Man, Resolution, and Two Little Flowers (Mordecai Bauman [Bar] and Albert Hirsh [pf]); for New Music Recordings, issued in 1938) |
| 1940 | First recording: songs Hymn and The Last Reader (Ethel Luening [S] and Lionel Nowak [pf]; for Yaddo label, issued c1940) |
| early 1940s | First recording: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, mvts. ii–iii (Sol Babitz [vn] and Ingolf Dahl [pf]; for Alco label, issued c1947) |
| 1948 | First recording: Columbia Records issues on 78s John Kirkpatrick’s 1945 recording of Sonata No. 2 for Piano: Concord, Mass. |
| 1949 | First recording: Orchestral Set No. 1, mvt. iii (Janssen Symphony of Los Angeles, cond. by Werner Janssen; issued by Artist label) |
| 1952 | First recording: Set for Theater Orchestra (Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Stell Anderson [pf], cond. by Jonathan Sternberg; issued 1953 by Oceanic) |
| 1953 | First recording: Orchestral Set No. 1 [1935 version] (American Recording Society Orchestra, cond. by Walter Hendl; issued by American Recording Society label) |
| 1960 | First recording: songs The South Wind and West London (Devy Barnett [S] and Mel Strauss [pf]; issued c 1960 by Stereo Age) |
| 1963 | First recording: String Quartet No. 1: From the Salvation Army (The Kohon Quartet of New York University; issued 1964 by Vox) |
| 1975 | First recording: song Dreams (New York Vocal Arts Ensemble, pf/cond. Raymond Beegle; issued in 1976 by Turnabout) |
| 1976 | First recording: songs Vote for Names! Names! Names! (Catherine Aks [S], The Gregg Smith Singers, cond. Gregg Smith; issued in 1977 by Vox Productions) and William Will (Fay Kittleson [A], Patrick Mason [Bar], The Greg Smith Singers, cond. Greg Smith; issued in 1977 by Vox Productions) |
Thematic programming ideas: Holidays
| Martin Luther King Day (3rd Mon. in Jan or Jan 15) | The St. Gaudens in Boston Common ("Three Places in New England"), piano Study No. 9: The Anti-Abolitionist Riots, song/choral Lincoln, the Great Commoner |
| National Freedom Day (Feb 1) | Ives pieces that quote George F. Root’s Civil War song ‘The Battle Cry of Freedom’ include: Decoration Day, Fourth of July, Three Places in New England/i&ii, "Country Band" March, Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano/ii, Three Quarter-Tone Pieces/ii, and songs In Flanders Fields, They Are There!, and The Things Our Fathers Loved |
| President’s Day (3rd Mon. in Feb) | Washington’s Birthday ("Holidays Symphony"); choral/song Lincoln, the Great Commoner |
| Valentine’s Day (Feb 14) | songs Because of You, Because Thou Art, Canon, Dreams, Friendship, In My Beloved’s Eyes, My Lou Jennine, An Old Flame, Weil’ auf mir/Eyes so dark |
| St. Patrick’s Day (Mar 17) | March No. 2, with "Son of a Gambolier"; song A Son of a Gambolier |
| Easter (1st Sun. after 1st full moon after the Spring equinox): | choral Easter Carol |
| Mother’s Day (2nd Sun. in May) | songs Du alte Mutter, The Old Mother, Songs my mother taught me |
| Memorial Day (last Mon. in May) | Decoration Day ("Holidays Symphony"), Holiday Quickstep; organ Variations on "America" (or orchestra arr.) |
| Flag Day (June 14) | Symphony No. 2; Variations on "America" (organ or orchestra arr.); song Flag Song |
| Father’s Day (3rd Sun. in June) | songs The Greatest Man, Remembrance |
| Independence Day (July 4) | Fourth of July ("Holidays Symphony"), Symphony No. 2, Putnam’s Camp ("Three Places in New England"), Overture & March "1776"; organ Variations on "America" (or orchestra arr.); choral/songs He Is There!, They Are There! |
| Labor Day (1st Mon. in Sept; "back to school") | Trio for Violin, Violoncello, and Piano; chamber orch Set No. 1, mvt. ii ("A Lecture"), Yale-Princeton Football Game, A Lecture (mvt. ii of Set No. 1) |
| Columbus Day (2nd Mon. in Oct) | Symphony No. 2, mvt. v |
| United Nations Day (Oct 24) | choral The Masses/Majority, song Majority |
| Halloween (Oct 31) | chamber ens Hallowe’en |
| Election Day (1st Tues. in Nov after the 1st Mon.) | choral/song An Election; songs Nov. 2, 1920, Vote for Names! Names! Names! |
| Veteran’s Day (Nov 11) | songs Tom Sails Away, In Flanders Fields, He Is There!, They Are There! |
| Thanksgiving (4th Thurs. in Nov) | Thanksgiving ("Holidays Symphony"); Psalms (10) |
| Christmas (Dec 25) | Symphony No. 4, mvt. i; Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, mvt. iii; "Adeste Fideles" in an Organ Prelude; songs A Christmas Carol, Christmas Carol (Edith Ives’s), Watchman |
Seasonal ideas (music with meaning for a particular season)
| Winter: | orch. Washington's Birthday; violin&piano Washington's Birthday; song/choral December |
| Spring: | orch. Decoration Day; vioin&piano Decoration Day; songs Frühlingslied, Gruss, A Perfect Day, Spring Song, Two Little Flowers |
| Summer: | orch. Central Park in the Dark in the Good Old Summertime, Fourth of July; orch/chamber Gong on the Hook and Ladder; Sonata No. 4 for Violin and Piano; song Feldeinsamkeit (In Summer Fields) |
| Fall: | orch. Yale-Princeton Football Game, Thanksgiving; Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano; Three Harvest Home Chorales; songs Autumn, In Autumn, Maple Leaves, Song for Harvest Season, Walking |
Monthly ideas (music with specific meaning to certain months)
| January | |
| February | orch. Washington's Birthday; violin&piano Washington's Birthday |
| March | |
| April: | songs Frühlingslied, In April-tide, Two Little Flowers |
| May: | orch. Decoration Day; violin&piano Decoration Day songs Night of Frost in May, A Night Song, A Song–For Anything (Yale, Farewell!) |
| June | |
| July | orch. The Fourth of July |
| August: | song August |
| September: | song September |
| October: | songs Autumn, Maple Leaves, Walking, Yellow Leaves |
| November: | orch. Thanksgiving; songs An Election, Vote for Names! Names! Names!, Song for Harvest Season |
| December: | chorus&orch December; songs December, The Ending Year |
Thematic grouping ideas
| Children: | Symphony No. 3, mvt. ii, Sonata No. 4 for Violin and Piano: Children’s Day at the Camp Meeting; songs Berceuse, The Children’s Hour, Cradle Song, Two Little Flowers, Songs my mother taught me, To Edith |
| Cowboys: | Charlie Rutlage |
| Ecology: | The New River (The Ruined River) |
| Sentimental songs: | Down East, Dreams, In the Alley, Kären, Marie, A Night Song, An Old Flame, A Song–For Anything, Songs my mother taught me, The World’s Highway |
| Parody/caricature songs: | The Collection, On the Counter, Romanzo (di Central Park), Slugging a Vampire, "1, 2, 3", The Side Show, Vote for Names! Names! Names! |
| Sports: | Scherzo: All the Way Around and Back and Study No. 21: Some Southpaw Pitching (baseball); Yale-Princeton Football Game |
| Marching: | Calcium Light Night (Set No. 1, mvt. v); Overture and March "1776"; "Country Band" March, Holiday Quickstep, The Circus Band, March No. 2, with "Son of a Gambolier", March No. 3, with "My Old Kentucky Home"; March in F and C, with "Omega Lambda Chi", March "Intercollegiate," with "Annie Lisle"; piano Study No. 20: March, March No. 6 for Piano, with "Here’s to Good Old Yale"; choral Processional: Let There Be Light; songs The Circus Band, He Is There!, Old Home Day, A Son of a Gambolier, They Are There! |
| German songs: | Du alte Mutter, Du bist wie eine Blume, Ein Ton, Feldeinsamkeit, Frühlingslied, Gruss, Ich grolle nicht, Ilmenau, Marie, Minnelied, Rosamunde, Rosenzweige, Sehnsucht, The South Wind / Die Lotosblume, Weil’ auf mir, Widmung, Wie Melodien zieht es mir, Wiegenlied |
| French songs: | Chanson de Florian, Élégie, Qu’il m’irait bien, Rosamunde |
| Italian song: | La Fede |
| Religious songs: | At the River, The Camp Meeting, A Christmas Carol, Disclosure, Duty, Forward into Light, His Exaltation, Hymn, Immortality, In the Mornin’, The Innate, The Light That Is Felt, Naught that country needeth, A Night Thought, Paracelsus, The Rainbow (So May It Be!), Religion, Serenity, A Song—For Anything (Hear My Prayer, O Lord), The Waiting Soul, Watchman!, West London, Where the eagle cannot see |
| Water: | Three Places in New England, mvt. iii; The Ruined River (Set No. 1, mvt. iii), At Sea (Set No. 3, mvt. i); Swimmers; The Pond; The General Slocum; The Rainbow; Mists; songs At the River, At Sea, A Farewell to Land, Mists, The New River, The Rainbow, Remembrance, A Sea Dirge, The Sea of Sleep, Swimmers, Tom Sails Away |
| Nature (exclusive of the "Water" entries): | String Quartet No. 2, mvt. iii ("The Call of the Mountains"), From the Steeples and the Mountains, Sonata No. 2 for Piano: Concord, Mass., mvt. iv ("Thoreau"); Three Harvest Home Chorales; songs Afterglow, August, Autumn, Evening, Far in the Wood, Feldeinsamkeit/In Summer Fields, Frühlingslied, Ilmenau/Over all the treetops, Maple Leaves, Nature’s Way, A Night Thought, Peaks, Pictures, Rough Wind, The South Wind/Die Lotosblume, Spring Song, Sunrise, There is a certain garden, Thoreau, Yellow Leaves |
| Love: | see Valentine’s Day |
| Ragtime: | Orchestral Set No. 2, mvt. ii; Set for Theatre Orchestra, mvt. ii; Four Ragtime Dances; Central Park in the Dark; Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, mvt. ii; Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano, mvt. ii; Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for two pianos, mvt. ii; Three-Page Sonata for piano; Sonata No. 1 for Piano, mvts. ii & iv; song The See’r |