"We have suddenly discovered our musical Mark Twain, Emerson and Lincoln all rolled into one" (Leonard Bernstein)

Charles Ives was born in Danbury, Connecticut, on 20 October 1874 and influenced by the sounds of marching bands, circus parades and camp prayer meetings. He was also a genuine Yankee eccentric. He once said : ' Are my ears wrong? No one else seems to hear it the same.' And to his music copyist he pleaded: ' Please don't try and clean it up; the wrong notes are the right ones!'

Tonight's centenary tribute features a typical cross-section of the music of a nutty but profound composer, performed by: Yonty Solomon (piano)
The Ives Choir of Keele University Director Peter Dickinson with John Pattinson (piano) Meriel and Peter Dickinson (mezzo-soprano and piano) BBC Symphony Orchestra leader Bela Dekany conducted by Pierre Boulez
Introduced by Derek Parker
Written and produced by Kenneth Corden
American Sunday: today on Radio 3: see p 4