Ruggles, Carl

Ruggles, Carl, 1876–1971, American composer, b. Marion, Mass. Ruggles studied music at Harvard and was a friend of Charles Ives. His works are highly original, characterized by complex textures and jagged outlines. He wrote relatively little and later disavowed the music he had written before 1918. His best-known pieces include Men and Mountains (1924) and Sun-Treader (1932), for orchestra; Angels, for muted brass (1921); and Evocations (1934–43), for piano.

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