The Unanswered Ives
The Unanswered Ives is an hour-long documentary about the life and musical career of the American composer Charles Ives.[1] Written and directed by German film maker Anne-Kathrin Peitz, the documentary features Ives' early years in Danbury, CT, his musical relationship with his father, education at Yale and later career as insurance executive and composer. The documentary was commissioned by and produced for Arte and WDR television for broadcast and later distributed as part of a double DVD set.
| The Unanswered Ives | |
|---|---|
 The Unanswered Ives original DVD cover | |
| Also known as | The Unanswered Ives - American Pioneer of Music |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Created by | Anne-Kathrin Peitz |
| Developed by | Accentus Music/WDR |
| Written by | Anne-Kathrin Peitz |
| Directed by | Anne-Kathrin Peitz |
| Creative director | Anne-Kathrin Peitz |
| Presented by | Arte |
| Starring | John Adams Jack Cooper James Sinclair Jan Swafford |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Original languages | English German |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Paul Smaczny |
| Producer | Maria Stodtmeier |
| Production locations | Berlin, Germany Leipzig, Germany New York, N.Y. Danbury, Connecticut New Haven, Connecticut |
| Cinematography | Mitja Hagelüken |
| Editor | Dirk Seliger |
| Camera setup | Ulf Wogenstein, Christoph Wonneberger (sound) |
| Running time | 54 minutes |
| Production companies | Accentus Music GmbH Arte [de/fr] WDR - Westdeutscher Rundfunk [de] Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung |
| Distributor | WDR - Westdeutscher Rundfunk [de] |
| Release | |
| Original network | WDR, Arte |
| Picture format | HDTV 16:9 (for television) 16:9 NTSC (for DVD) |
| Audio format | PCM Stereo Dolby digital 5.1 DTS 5.1 Surround |
| Original release | September 22, 2019 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
Background
After numerous successful collaborations on music documentaries between Accentus Music, WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) and Arte T.V., an agreement was signed in 2017 to complete a definitive documentary on American composer Charles Ives. The idea was generated by award-winning film director Anne-Kathrin Peitz and backed by Accentus Music owner Paul Smaczny.[2] In January of 2018 the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung awarded Accentus Music €140,000 to proceed with the production of the documentary.[3]
Production and documentary
Most of the Peitz' on-location cinematography in the New England region was completed in late spring of 2018. Part of the exterior filming was hampered by four tornadoes on May 15, 2018.
Live filming was completed on June 1st 2018 in Berlin, Germany at the Hochschule der populären Künste recording studio. Editing and final credits were completed at the end of September 2018 in Leipzig, Germany.[4] Post-production color processing was completed at Trickkiste Studios.[5]
Premieres, presentations and distribution
The first showing of The Unanswered Ives was on the campus of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill on October 13, 2018.[6] This was in conjunction the North Carolina Repertory Jazz Orchestra concert playing the music of the Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra album.[7]
The documentary received its first European preview on April 9, 2019 in Mannheim, Germany at the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg during the 15th edition of the International Forum for Music, ‘’The Look of Sound’’.[8] Arte Television’s official premiere and initial broadcast of The Unanswered Ives documentary was through the ARD network on Saturday, September 22, 2019 (11:20 p.m. – 12:15 a.m. programming slot, CET) and was re-broadcast on Sunday, September 29 at 9:20 a.m.[9][10] The classical and archival music station SWR2 in Baden-Württemberg, Germany broadcast an extensive 6 minute segment on the Südwestrundfunk Meeting Point Classic show about the combined DVD: Universe, Incomplete/The Unanswered Ives.[11]
Other European and Middle Eastern film festivals The Unanswered Ives was presented on include the Projection Music’Arte and the Golden Prague International Film Festival where it received the Czech Crystal – “Documentary Programmes Dedicated to Music, Dance and Theatre”.[12][13][14] The documentary was entered into and shown at 5th Beirut Art Film Festival (BAFF) in Lebanon, held at the American University of Beirut. The film was shown on December 11, 2020.[15]
The DVD of The Unanswered Ives was released by Accentus Music for purchase in November of 2019 as part of a two DVD set, Charles Ives – UNIVERSE, INCOMPLETE//THE UNANSWERED IVES.[16] The first DVD, UNIVERSE, INCOMPLETE, is a live production directed by Christoph Marthaler, music conducted by Titus Engel with stage design by Anna Viebrock. They developed a highly individual take on Ives' unfinished project: the Universe Symphony. The second CD is Anne-Kathrin Peitz production: The Unanswered Ives.
Critical reception and professional ratings
"The small-town environment of (Ives) childhood and youth are well-conjured up though (sic) and there’s an impressive roll-call of experts, who don’t outstay their welcome. The interwoven performances are straightforwardly presented"
Martin Cotton, BBC Music Magazine[17]
"...A solid Ives documentary completes this outstanding publication..."
Juan Martin Kock, Neue Musikzeitung (translated)[18]
"...The Unanswered Ives...give in brief sketches a friendly but not exaggerated look at this enfant terrible of the US American music scene."
References
- List of prize winners for 2019 Golden Prague Film Festival
- IMZ Media Centre, START OF FILMING FOR “THE UNANSWERED IVES”, IMZ Industry Newsletter May 2018
- Filmbiz News. Central German media funding supports..., January 26, 2018
- End credits, The Unanswered Ives, Accentus Music
- Trikkiste Studios, The Unanswered Ives
- Film Presentation of "Charles Ives: The Unanswered Ives", UNC CH Campus, October 13, 2018
- The North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra, October 13, 2018, 8:00 pm
- ARTE Vorabpremiere Film Cineplex, P4,13 (Planken) Anmeldung erforderlich, The Unanswered Ives, von Anne-Kathrin Petz, 2018 Dienstag, 09. April 2019
- programm.ARD.de, Television premiere, The Unanswered Ives, September 22, 2019, 11:20 PM
- Television re-broadcast, The Unanswered Ives, September 29, 2019, 9:20 AM
- Thursday, February 27, 2020 10:05 a.m., Südwestrundfunk/SWR2 Meeting point classic, SWR2, DVD TIP Charles Ives: Universe, Incomplete/The Unanswered Ives. Re-broadcast several times after
- Festival Strasbourg, France, Projection Music’Arte Festival, Palais de la musique et des congrès - salle René Cassin, Strasbourg, France, The Unanswered Ives, Saturday, September 21, 2019, 4:30 PM
- Golden Prague International Film Festival, ’'The Unanswered Ives Film #56. Prague, Czech Republic, September 25–28, 2019
- IMZ, FIFTH GOLDEN PRAGUE AWARD FOR ACCENTUS MUSIC, Czech Crystal for its documentary “The Unanswered Ives”
- Beirut Art Film Festival, December 11th, 2020, The Unanswered Ives – Pioneer of American Music at 7:00 pm
- Accentus Music site, Charles Ives – UNIVERSE, INCOMPLETE//THE UNANSWERED IVES
- Cotton, Martin. BBC Music Magazine. Reviews, Documentaries. The Unanswered Ives. May 2020. pp. 91
- Koch, Juan Martin. Neue Musikzeitung. Review. "Universe Symphony / The Unanswered Ives". May, 2020
- Krusch, Uwe. Pizzicato Reviews, The paradoxical composer: Charles Ives in sound and image. Saturday, 18 July 2020