Charles Ives was born into a family of musicians. His father, a military conductor and excellent teacher, taught him organ, counterpoint and a wide variety of instruments and melodies. He is considered the initiator of many of the processes that foreshadow contemporary music, particularly in the fields of polytonality, atonality and polyrhythm. A graduate of Yale University, he made his fortune in insurance (the company he founded still exists today). Married to the lovely Harmony Twichell, he lived in New York and spent his weekends in Connecticut, still composing, but never giving up the business. Few of his works were performed during his lifetime, but his importance was increasingly recognized. He died of a heart attack, rich, respected and happy.
