Short bio Lou Harrison
Birthday:
1917 in Portland, OR
Died:
2003 in United States
Active:
1940s - 1990s
Genre:
Classical,New Age,Avant-Garde,Jazz
Period:
20th Century, Contemporary
Full biography Lou Harrison
Lou Harrison (1917-2003) was an American composer known for his unique style that blended elements of Western classical music with traditional Asian music. Harrison was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in California. He studied music at San Francisco State University and later at the Henry Cowell School of Music, where he became interested in world music and percussion.
Harrison's early compositions were influenced by the ultramodernist style of the time, but over time he began incorporating elements of world music, especially the music of Asia. He is best known for his works for percussion ensemble, often using non-traditional instruments such as tin cans and brake drums. Harrison also wrote for traditional Western instruments, including orchestral works, chamber music, and solo works.
In addition to his work as a composer, Harrison was an accomplished music critic and an advocate for new music. He helped found the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and the Society for Music in Contemporary Art, and was a champion of tuning systems other than the standard Western equal temperament.
Harrison's interest in traditional Asian music led him to study and collaborate with musicians from India, Korea, and especially Indonesia. He frequently incorporated gamelan (Indonesian percussion ensemble) music into his compositions. He also wrote extensively about music, including articles, essays, and a book titled "A World of Music."
Lou Harrison's influence on contemporary classical music is still felt today, and his unique blend of Western and non-Western musical traditions has inspired many composers in the years since his death.
Compositions featuring Lou Harrison
| # | Name | Duration | Genre | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scenes from Nek Chand, for steel guitar | 10:14 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | 2001 |
| 2 | Suite for National Steel Guitar | 13:10 min | Chamber Music | 2001 |
| 3 | Harpsichord Sonata | 9:12 min | Keyboard | 2000 |
| 4 | Short Set from "Lazarus Laughed", for flute, cello & celesta | 5:14 min | Chamber Music | 1999 |
| 5 | Music for Remy, for oboe & percussion | 5:00 min | Chamber Music | 1998 |
| 6 | Suite for Pipa with String Orchestra (Concerto for Pipa with String Orchestra) | 25:32 min | Concerto | 1997 |
| 7 | Suite for Violin with Strings (arr. of "Suite for Violin & American Gamelan") | 20:58 min | Concerto | 1997 |
| 8 | Rhymes with Silver, for violin, viola, cello, piano & percussion | 36:49 min | Chamber Music | 1996 |
| 9 | Suite for Cello and Piano | 8:15 min | Chamber Music | 1995 |
| 10 | Tandy's Tango, for piano | 3:18 min | Keyboard | 1992 |
| 11 | Homage to Pacifica, for female voice, chorus, gamelan, bassoon, harp & percussion | 36:49 min | Ballet | 1991 |
| 12 | In Honor of the Divine Mr. Handel, for harp & gamelan | 6:25 min | Chamber Music | 1991 |
| 13 | Symphony No. 4, for baritone & orchestra ("Last Symphony") | 42:12 min | Symphony | 1990 |
| 14 | Threnody for Oliver Daniel, for harp | 3:03 min | Chamber Music | 1990 |
| 15 | A Soedjatmoko Set, for female voice, mixed voices & Javanese Gamelan | 25:17 min | Choral | 1989 |
| 16 | Piano Trio | 33:34 min | Chamber Music | 1989 |
| 17 | Grand Duo, for violin & piano | 33:39 min | Chamber Music | 1988 |
| 18 | Air for the Poet, for orchestra (also vers. for metallophone & drum; solo instrument with 2 ostenati) | 4:11 min | Orchestral | 1987 |
| 19 | Ariadne, ballet for flute & percussion | 8:01 min | Ballet | 1987 |
| 20 | The Clays' Quintet, for trumpet, horn, mandolin, harp & percussion | 20:17 min | Chamber Music | 1987 |
| 21 | A Cornish Lancaran, for soprano sax & Javanese Gamelan | 5:31 min | Concerto | 1986 |
| 22 | Concerto for Piano with Javanese Gamelan | 25:11 min | Concerto | 1986 |
| 23 | New Moon, for flute, clarinet, trombone, violin, bass & percussion | 22:25 min | Chamber Music | 1986 |
| 24 | Varied Trio, for violin, piano & percussion | 16:48 min | Chamber Music | 1986 |
| 25 | Philemon and Baukis, for violin & Javanese Gamelan | 12:57 min | Concerto | 1985 |
| 26 | Faust, incidental music for soloists, chorus, orchestra, harps & gamelan | Choral | 1984 | |
| 27 | Mass for St. Cecilia's Day (Gregorian Mass), for male chorus, harp & drone | 22:47 min | Choral | 1983 |
| 28 | Piano Concerto with Selected Orchestra | 31:20 min | Concerto | 1983 |
| 29 | Elegy to the Memory of Calvin Simmons, for chamber ensemble | 4:36 min | Chamber Music | 1982 |
| 30 | Symphony No. 3 | 33:06 min | Symphony | 1982 |
| 31 | Double Concerto, for violin, cello & Javanese gamelan | 23:44 min | Concerto | 1981 |
| 32 | Gending Alexander, for Javanese Gamelan | 13:23 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | 1981 |
| 33 | Scenes from Cavafy, for baritone, male chorus, harp & Javanese Gamelan | 22:24 min | Choral | 1980 |
| 34 | Ditone Set, for guitar | 17:30 min | Chamber Music | 1978 |
| 35 | Main Bersama Sama, for Sudanese Gamelan | 7:22 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | 1978 |
| 36 | Plaint and Variations, for guitar | 8:35 min | Chamber Music | 1978 |
| 37 | Serenade for Betty Freeman and Franco Assetto, for suling & Sudanese Gamelan | 5:51 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | 1978 |
| 38 | Serenade for guitar with optional percussion | 11:12 min | Chamber Music | 1978 |
| 39 | String Quartet Set | 26:08 min | Chamber Music | 1978 |
| 40 | Suite for Guitar with Optional Percussion | 7:22 min | Chamber Music | 1978 |
| 41 | Suite, for guitar No. 1 (adapted by John Schneider) | 14:09 min | Chamber Music | 1978 |
| 42 | Threnody for Carlos Chavez, for viola & Sudanese gamelan | 7:26 min | Concerto | 1978 |
| 43 | Waltz for Evelyn Hinrichsen, for piano or harp or guitar | 2:08 min | Keyboard | 1977 |
| 44 | Bubaran Robert, for Javanese Gamelan & trumpet (part of "Music for Kyai Hudan Mas") | 3:51 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | 1976 |
| 45 | Little Homage to Eratosthenes (Eratosthenes' Chromatic), for harp & gongs | 1:46 min | Chamber Music | 1974 |
| 46 | Sonata in Ishartum, for harp or guitar | 1:42 min | Chamber Music | 1974 |
| 47 | Suite for Violin and American Gamelan (collab. with Richard Dee) | 27:43 min | Concerto | 1973 |
| 48 | Jahla, in the form of a Ductia to please Leopold Stokowski on his 90th birthday, for harp (or guitar) & percussion | 2:02 min | Chamber Music | 1972 |
| 49 | Lyric Phrases, for guitar & percussion | 3:22 min | Chamber Music | 1972 |
| 50 | Solo to Anthony Cirone, for tenor bells | 4:12 min | Chamber Music | 1972 |
| 51 | Suite No. 2 for guitar | 10:41 min | Chamber Music | 1972 |
| 52 | La Koro Sutro, for chorus, percussion, harp, organ & American Gamelan (also arr. for chorus & orchestra) | 27:49 min | Choral | 1970 |
| 53 | Young Caesar, versions for puppet-opera and opera-ballet for soloists, chorus, American Gamelan or Western instruments | 3:14 min | Opera | 1970 |
| 54 | Beverly's Troubadour Piece, for harp (or guitar) & 2 percussionists | 1:50 min | Chamber Music | 1967 |
| 55 | In Memory of Victor Jowers, for clarinet (or English horn) & piano (or harp) | 2:52 min | Chamber Music | 1967 |
| 56 | Music for Violin and Various Instruments, European, Asian and African | 10:39 min | Concerto | 1967 |
| 57 | Music for Bill & Me, for harp or guitar | 4:03 min | Chamber Music | 1966 |
| 58 | Avalokiteshvara, for harp (or grand psaltery or guitar) & percussion | 2:18 min | Chamber Music | 1964 |
| 59 | Elegy for Harpo Marx, for orchestra | 6:09 min | Orchestral | 1964 |
| 60 | Garden at One and a Quarter Moons, for psaltery or cheng | Chamber Music | 1964 | |
| 61 | At the Tomb of Charles Ives, for trombone, 2 psalteries, 2 dulcimers, 3 harps, tam-tam & strings | 3:51 min | Chamber Music | 1963 |
| 62 | Majestic Fanfare, for 3 trumpets, snare drum & bass drum | 2:52 min | Chamber Music | 1963 |
| 63 | Pacifika Rondo, for chamber orchestra of Oriental & Western instruments | 24:07 min | Chamber Music | 1963 |
| 64 | Concerto in Slendro, for violin, celesta, 2 tack pianos & 2 percussionists | 9:51 min | Chamber Music | 1961 |
| 65 | Psalter Sonata, for psaltery | 5:12 min | Chamber Music | 1961 |
| 66 | Incidental Music for Corneille's "Cinna", for just-intonation tack piano ("Suite for Tack Piano") | 11:58 min | Show/Musical | 1955 |
| 67 | Simfony in Free Style, for 17 flutes, 8 viols, 5 harps, trombone, piano & percussion | 4:31 min | Orchestral | 1955 |
| 68 | Strict Songs (4), for 8 baritones (or male chorus) & chamber orchestra; or baritone, chorus & chamber orchestra | 17:48 min | Choral | 1955 |
| 69 | A Little Gamelan for Katherin Litz to Teach By, for piano | 2:06 min | Keyboard | 1952 |
| 70 | An Old Times Tune for Merce Cunningham's 75th Birthday, for string quartet & piano | Chamber Music | 1952 | |
| 71 | Rapunzel, opera in 6 acts | 53:32 min | Opera | 1952 |
| 72 | Serenade for Guitar (Serenade for Frank Wigglesworth), for guitar (or harp) | 2:52 min | Chamber Music | 1952 |
| 73 | The Lou Harrison Guitar Book, for guitar | Chamber Music | 1952 | |
| 74 | Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra | 22:26 min | Concerto | 1951 |
| 75 | Praises for Hummingbirds and Hawks (Suite for Small Orchestra), for chamber ensemble | 1:57 min | Orchestral | 1951 |
| 76 | Songs in the Forest, for flute, piccolo, violin, piano & percussion | 9:13 min | Chamber Music | 1951 |
| 77 | Suite for Violin, Piano and Small Orchestra | 17:40 min | Concerto | 1951 |
| 78 | Vestiunt Silve, for mezzo-soprano, flute, 2 viols & harp | 3:35 min | Vocal Music | 1951 |
| 79 | Little Suite for Piano | 2:10 min | Keyboard | 1949 |
| 80 | Pastorales (7), for flute, oboe, bassoon, harp & strings | 19:31 min | Chamber Music | 1949 |
| 81 | Solstice, ballet for flute, oboe, trumpet, celeste, tack piano, 2 cellos & bass | 26:55 min | Ballet | 1949 |
| 82 | Suite for Cello and Harp (also arr. for cello & strings by R. Hughes) | 12:00 min | Chamber Music | 1949 |
| 83 | The Marriage at the Eiffel Tower, for chamber ensemble | 15:23 min | Chamber Music | 1949 |
| 84 | The Only Jealousy of Emer, incidental music for celeste. piano, flute, cello & bass | 11:36 min | Show/Musical | 1949 |
| 85 | Suite No.2 for String Orchestra (or string quartet) | 11:11 min | Orchestral | 1948 |
| 86 | The Perilous Chapel, for flute, cello, drums & harp | 15:35 min | Chamber Music | 1948 |
| 87 | Symphony on G | 39:09 min | Symphony | 1947 |
| 88 | The Open Road (ballet title for "Western Dance"), ballet for piano & chamber orchestra | 3:58 min | Ballet | 1947 |
| 89 | Western Dance, for piano | 2:18 min | Keyboard | 1947 |
| 90 | Air in G minor, for flute with optional drone | 3:58 min | Chamber Music | 1946 |
| 91 | Trio (String Trio), for violin, viola & cello | 4:58 min | Chamber Music | 1946 |
| 92 | A 12-tone Morning After to Amuse Henry, for piano | 2:49 min | Keyboard | 1945 |
| 93 | Triphony, for piano | 5:07 min | Keyboard | 1945 |
| 94 | New York Waltzes (3), for piano | 3:32 min | Keyboard | 1944 |
| 95 | Easter Cantata, for voices, chorus & orchestra | 11:27 min | Choral | 1943 |
| 96 | Suite for Piano | Keyboard | 1943 | |
| 97 | In Praise of Johnny Appleseed, for 3 percussionists | 11:26 min | Chamber Music | 1942 |
| 98 | Suite for Percussion, for 5 percussionists | 10:17 min | Chamber Music | 1942 |
| 99 | Symphony No. 2 ("Elegiac") | 33:49 min | Symphony | 1942 |
| 100 | Canticle No. 3, for flute (or ocarina), guitar & percussion | 15:45 min | Chamber Music | 1941 |
| 101 | Fugue for Percussion, for 4 percussionists | 4:05 min | Chamber Music | 1941 |
| 102 | Gigue & Musette, for piano | 2:15 min | Keyboard | 1941 |
| 103 | King David's Lament for Jonathan, for tenor & piano | 2:25 min | Vocal Music | 1941 |
| 104 | May Rain, for voice, tack piano & tam-tam | 3:02 min | Vocal Music | 1941 |
| 105 | Simfony No. 13, for percussion quartet | 8:56 min | Chamber Music | 1941 |
| 106 | Song of Quetzalcoatl, for 4 percussionists | 6:40 min | Chamber Music | 1941 |
| 107 | Songs (3), for male chorus, piano, percussion & strings | 9:30 min | Choral | 1941 |
| 108 | Canticle No. 1, for 5 percussionists | 4:45 min | Chamber Music | 1940 |
| 109 | Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra | 19:58 min | Concerto | 1940 |
| 110 | Labyrinth No. 3, for 11 percussionists | 20:24 min | Chamber Music | 1940 |
| 111 | Pied Beauty, for voice, trombone or cello, flute & percussion | 2:13 min | Vocal Music | 1940 |
| 112 | Bomba, for 5 percussionists | 2:55 min | Chamber Music | 1939 |
| 113 | Concerto for Flute & Percussion | 8:42 min | Concerto | 1939 |
| 114 | Mass to Saint Anthony, for chorus, trumpet, harp & strings | 27:11 min | Choral | 1939 |
| 115 | Simfony No. 5, for percussion quartet | 15:37 min | Chamber Music | 1939 |
| 116 | Tributes to Charon, for percussion trio & alarm clocks | 4:49 min | Chamber Music | 1939 |
| 117 | Piano Sonata No. 3 | 11:11 min | Keyboard | 1938 |
| 118 | Largo Ostinato, for piano | 5:17 min | Keyboard | 1937 |
| 119 | Prelude and Sarabande for Grandpiano, for piano | 6:10 min | Keyboard | 1937 |
| 120 | A Summerfield Set, for piano (or harpsichord) | 11:08 min | Keyboard | 1936 |
| 121 | Suite for Symphonic Strings, for string orchestra | 34:35 min | Orchestral | 1936 |
| 122 | Sonatas (6) for Cembalo, for harpsichord | 19:27 min | Keyboard | 1934 |
| 123 | Harp Suite (compilation of 7 of the harp or guitar pieces) | 15:15 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 124 | Homage to Milhaud, for piano | 0:40 min | Keyboard | - |
| 125 | Jarabe, for piano | 2:08 min | Keyboard | - |
| 126 | Polka, for piano | 2:16 min | Keyboard | - |
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