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.

---

Ruggles, Carl (Charles Sprague) (1876–1971) composer; born in Marion, Mass. He studied at Harvard and then organized and conducted an orchestra in Minnesota (1912–17) before going to New York to compose and promote new music; there he became a close friend of Charles Ives. After teaching at Miami University (1937–47), Ruggles retired to Vermont, spending much of his time painting. Toward the end of his life he finally found acclaim for the eight highly individual, craggy, painstakingly composed works he had completed, notably Sun-Treader for orchestra (1926–31).