Like so many of Charles Ives' works, Halloween (1907) apparently draws its inspiration from the composer's memories of childhood. In a typically audacious gesture, Ives combines the traditionally staid ensemble of piano quintet with a bass drum, which is used loudly and prominently. Halloween begins with eerie scales in the strings that enter canonically and in different keys. As the sonic web gradually thickens, the strings begin to play identical rhythms, alternating between similar and contrasting melodic lines. Apparently oblivious to the music of the strings, the piano enters with a mind of its own. The cacophony increases until the bass drum—which seems intent mainly on clearing the room—noisily begins to bang away. A sudden, final flurry in the strings heralds an altogether unexpected Mozartian cadence, punctuated by the bass drum, which brings Halloween to a delightfully ridiculous close.

While the extreme dissonance of Ives' music can often be ascribed to his carefully crafted, multilayered collage style, he's really just being difficult in Halloween: as the composer himself noted, the piece was "written for a Halloween party and not for a nice concert."

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