Historical and Musical Comparison of Cello Works by David Stanley Smith and the Fourth Violin Sonata by Charles Ives

Abstract

David Stanley Smith is overlooked among American composers of the early twentieth century. Overshadowed by the career and magnetism of his Yale colleague and contemporary, Charles Ives, Smith was an illustrious composer of absolute music of the early twentieth century. The intent of this document is to compare and contrast the compositional styles of both Smith and Ives and present an argument as to why Ives’s music is more frequently performed and researched, while Smith’s music is largely forgotten. This document will compare and contrast Smith and Ives using Smith’s Sonata for Violoncello and Piano, Op. 59 and his Three Poems for Violoncello and Piano, Op. 97bis, and Ives’s Fourth Violin Sonata. This document will also compare their backgrounds and education, their work lives, their compositional styles and choices, and their reception in their lifetime.