Carl Ruggles - Sun Treader

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas - Conductor

Sun Treader is, indisputably, Carl Ruggles' greatest piece, one of the greatest pieces of music composed in the first half of the 20th century, one of the most intense pieces of music written in a century of intense music.  It stands up beside any other work I know of.  Whatever reservations his biography might give you about the man, his small body of music is as good as that written by anyone.

Michael Tilson Thomas may be his foremost champion, having conducted all of the authorized orchestral works and recorded them.  One account I read said that a pre-release tape of his first recording of Sun Treader with the Boston Symphony was the only time Ruggles, then very old, very deaf and, reputedly, somewhat mad heard his masterwork when Thomas put some headphones on him at his nursing home in Vermont.

I would encourage you to buy the recording of this piece, I believe both of the Boston Symphony (the great Vic Firth playing the all important tympani part) and Buffalo Symphony recordings have been issued on CD because you really don't get nearly the full impact of the music from an mp4 with computer speakers.  Though you can get a good idea of what you are missing.

You can consider this my 4th of July Weekend Contribution


P.S. There is another recording of it that was issued but the liberties taken by another conductor are so drastic that I can't recommend that one.  It wasn't Bernstein but another notorious distorter who conducted it.

Update:  Yeah, Marilyn J. Ziffrin, who knew him very well and who is his biographer once said to a class I took with her that he was a foul-mouthed bastard who eventually ended up bad mouthing pretty much everyone but she loved him.   For all of the accusations of antisemitism it is remarkable how among musicians such as Lukas Foss, Michael Tilson Thomas, Donald Berman, Marilyn Ziffrin .... most of those who have championed his music seem to be Jewish.   Um, I'll go with them and their opinion instead of your ignorance.

His music may well have been the best thing about him.  You, on the other hand, if there were to be any such a thing, your silence would have to be the best thing about you.

Update 2:  I don't care what you come up with Stupie.   You haven't come up with anything no matter how much you pretend you have.  What you don't know about music is just about everything.

Update 3:  Considering, Stupy, that within the past six months you defended the likely child rapist, Gore Vidal, on the basis that he was allegedly a great author, you are blowing smoke.  You want me to come up with a list of racists you adore?   How about we start with Mick?

Why don't you give Mr. Thomas a piece of your mind on the topic.  The postage on it shouldn't be very expensive, even if you send him all of it by Priority Mail.

Update 4:  As I said, Michael Tilson Thomas is probably the greatest proponent and performer of Carl Ruggels' music.  He has recorded all of his authorized music, a number of other pieces which were not authorized having been performed by the magnificent, no, not strong enough, truly great pianist Donald Berman his albums of Ives and Ruggels are some of the finest recordings of recent decades.   I have merely played the 4 Evocations in private, though no where near as well as Berman or Thomas (he conducted and recorded the hardly ever heard orchestrated versions as well).  Go give them a piece of the Simels mind I'd imagine they might have a magnifying glass strong enough to see it. . You can throw in accusations of betrayal.  You do know that M. T. T. is the grandson of the legendary Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky,   I ask doubting that you do.

I haven't kept in touch with Marilyn Ziffrin the past 20 years or so but I knew her well enough that she would tell you what to do and where to go if you lectured her on the topic.  She didn't put up with nonsense.   I won't tell you what another of her students said about her after she dressed down a third student who got mouthy with her but it was accurate, surgical, even.  She was a great teacher a fine composer and a very good biographer.