Lou Harrison

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Lou Harrison (born May 14, 1917 in Portland / Oregon , † February 2, 2003 in Lafayette / Indiana ) was an American composer .

Life

The student of Henry Cowell and Arnold Schönberg worked from 1936 to 1943 as a teacher at various music schools in California , after which he settled as a music critic and instrument maker in New York City . From 1952 to 1953 he taught at the Black Mountain Collage of Buncombe County . Most recently he lived in Aptos / California with his partner Bill Colvig, who died in 2000.

With his compositional work, Harrison expanded the range of instruments and musical forms, for example by using objects such as brake cylinders, metal pipes, flower pots and rubbish bins in his percussion pieces. He also wrote works for the instrumentation of gamelan orchestras and used medieval dances, rituals of the Navaho Indians, early Californian mission music or the court music of Korea in his works.

Harrison composed, among other things, an opera ( Rapunzel , 1959), a ballet , two symphonies , seven pastorals for chamber orchestra, two string suites, two violin concertos, three piano and six harpsichord sonatas, a mass , a motet and stage music. He dedicated his piano concerto to Keith Jarrett .

In 1973 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters .

Works

Chamber music

  • Ariadne (1987), flute & percussion
  • At the Tomb of Charles Ives (1963), chamber orchestra
  • Concerto for Flute & Percussion (1939)
  • Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra (1951), percussion ensemble, organ and ensemble
  • Concerto for Piano and Javanese Gamelan (1986-87)
  • Concerto for Pipa with String Orchestra (1997), Asian instrument and ensemble
  • Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra (1959)
  • Concerto in Slendro (1961)
  • Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Javanese Gamelan (1981-82)
  • New First Suite for Strings (1995), string orchestra
  • Pacifika Rondo (1963), chamber orchestra
  • Serenado Por Gitaro (1952), guitar solo
  • Praise for the Beauty of Hummingbirds (1951), mixed quintet
  • Rhymes with Silver (1996), violoncello and ensemble, mixed quintet
  • Serenade for Guitar with optional Percussion (1978), mixed duo, guitar solo
  • Seven Pastorales (1949 Aug - 1951 Oct), chamber orchestra
  • Solstice (1949), octet (flute, oboe, trumpet, 2 cellos, string bass, celesta, tack piano)
  • Songs in the Forest (1951), mixed quartet
  • String Quartet Set (1978)
  • Suite for Cello and Harp (1949)
  • Suite for Percussion (for five percussionists, 1942)
  • Suite for Violin with American Gamelan (1973)
  • Suite for Violin with String Orchestra (1997)
  • Suite for Violoncello and Piano (1995)
  • Suites for Cello and String Orchestra (1984, 1990)
  • The Perilous Chapel (1948), mixed quartet
  • Varied Trio (1986), Rice Bowls, violin, vibraphone, piano (written for the Abel-Steinberg-Winant Trio)

Orchestral works

  • Symphony On G (No. 1) (1947)
  • Symphony No. 2 'Elegiac' (1942)
  • Suite from Marriage at the Eiffel Tower (1961) for the Santa Cruz Symphony
  • Music for Violin with Various Instruments, European, Asian, and African (1967), string solo and orchestra
  • Symphony No. 3 (1982) For the Cabrillo Music Festival
  • Piano Concerto (1983-85), for piano tuned in Kirnberger # 2 (a form of well temperament) and orchestra
  • Last Symphony (No. 4) (1990, rev. 1995)
  • A Parade for MTT (1995)

Vocal works

  • Air from Rapunzel (1952-3), high voice and ensemble
  • Alma Redemptoris Mater (1949-51), low voice and ensemble
  • La Koro Sutro ( Esperanto for " Heart Sutra ", with choral singing in Esperanto)
  • Mass to Saint Anthony (1939), mixed chorus and ensemble
  • Orpheus (1969), soloists, mixed chorus and ensemble
  • Strict Songs (1955), baritone solo, chorus and chamber orchestra
  • Three Songs (1985), men's chorus and ensemble
  • Vestiunt Silve (1951), for soprano and four instruments

Works for keyboard

  • Six Sonatas for Cembalo (1943), piano solo, harpsichord solo
  • Reel (Homage to Henry Cowell) , piano solo
  • A Summerfield Set (1988), piano solo, harpsichord solo
  • Waltz for Evelyn Hinrichsen , piano solo

Opera

  • Rapunzel (1952)
  • Young Caesar (1970)

literature

  • Bill Alves and Campbell Brett: Lou Harrison: American musical maverick , Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, [2017], ISBN 978-0-253-02615-6

swell

  1. ↑ Andante: Lou Harrison, American Music's 'Grand Old Maverick,' Is Dead at Age 85 ( Memento of November 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Members: Lou Harrison. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed April 2, 2019 .
  3. ↑ La Koro Sutro Guide to the Lou Harrison Music Manuscripts, Online Archive of California.
  4. ↑ an interview with Lou Harrison by Dr Geoff Smith, Head of Music, Bath Spa University College ( Memento of the original of July 10, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. SoundCircus. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.soundcircus.com
  5. ^ Program notes Harrison by Philipp Huscher, program annotator ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
  6. ↑ La Koro Sutro ( Memento of the original from August 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on New Albion Records - with MP3 of "Strofo 1". @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.newalbion.com
  7. ↑ Lou Harrison at Epitonic - with MP3 of "Strofo 7".

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Harrison, Lou
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH May 14, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Portland , Oregon
DATE OF DEATH February 2, 2003
Place of death Lafayette , Indiana