Lou Harrison

This is this 93rd post in our Musician of the Day series.



Lou Harrison was born in 1917 in Oregon. When he was just in in his twenties he studied with modernist American composer Henry Cowell. It was at this time that Lou met with another of Henry Cromwell's students, John Cage and the two developed a concert series which was devoted to new music for percussion.

After that he moved to California for a year where he studied at UCLA before moving on to make a name for himself in New York. Here he became known as a great composer and even as a music critic. The people that Lou met on these two trips would influence his music greatly, especially in his opera Rapunzel and his Symphony on G. In 1947 the stress of New York was too much for Lou and his friend John Cage recommended him to the North Carolina mountains to improve his health.

Even though he was no longer in the center of the music world he continued to compose a number of highly influential works throughout the 50s. In 1961 he took a trip to Tokyo which led to a fascination with Asian culture and music. Throughout the 60s he would compose some of his greatest works which seamlessly combine the two styles, these works include Pacifika Rondo and Young Caesar.

In the 1970s to the 1980s Lou began composing for ensembles and for the Javanese gamelan orchestra. He and his life partner even built a number of different instruments to use in his compositions.

Throughout the 1980s Lou finally became to enjoy the popularity and fame that his music deserved and there were a number of festivals and tributes in his honor. It was on the way to one of these festivals that Lou suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 85.

To learn more about Lou Harrison Documentary Project.