Lou Harrison, born on May 14, 1917, in Portland, Oregon, and passed away on February 2, 2003, was an innovative and influential American composer whose eclectic compositions advanced the use of non-Western instruments and tunings, synthesizing global music traditions with modern Western classical music. A student of Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg, Harrison was a contemporary and colleague of fellow composer John Cage with whom he also collaborated, notably on the piece "Double Music." His vast body of work is known for its rhythmic complexity, experimentation with just intonation, and incorporation of instruments from various cultural traditions, especially from East and Southeast Asia.

Throughout his career, Harrison embraced various world music influences and was particularly fond of the gamelan music of Java and Bali, which led him to compose works such as the "Concerto for Piano with Javanese Gamelan" and "La Koro Sutro," which includes a chorus and American gamelan – instruments he built himself out of tin cans, oxygen tanks, and other materials. His compositions often reflected his pacifist beliefs and his passion for dance and poetry. "Lou Harrison: Scenes from Cavafy" draws on the poetry of Constantine P. Cavafy as a text setting for his music. Harrison's legacy is that of a quintessentially American artist whose innovation and openness to a wide array of sounds have left a lasting imprint on contemporary classical music.

Genres

American Contemporary Classical

Avant-garde

Classical Percussion

Contemporary Classical

Serialism

Xenharmonic

Latest Release

Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin (1936)

Lou Harrison

Single - Released September 23, 2022