Ives certainly had his radical political side. Check out some of his writings such as "essays before a sonata". SOme letters he wrote to Congress make for interesting reading. He was a crusty old fool in many ways and as Phil James mentioned a serious homophobe which aanohter great american composer, Henry Cowell felt the shortcomings of.
One of my favorite Ives quotes, "beauty in music is often confused with what lets one lie back in an easy chair".
Imagine a beginning violin player/maker offering up horribly out of whack instruments and playing them and selling them and calling it "meditation violin". Somehow i do not think it would be too widely accepted or understood. The "Zen" aspect of shakuhachi sure does get in the way with this instrument, at times.
ok Brian, you may now try to rip my post apart. :)
phil
Philip Gelb
shakuhachi player, teacher
Vegetarian, Vegan Personal chef
http://philipgelb.com
phil@philipgelb.com
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