Lou Harrison

Lou Harrison – Life, Music, and Legacy

Dive into the life and music of Lou Harrison (1917–2003), American composer, instrument-builder, and pioneer of non-Western tuning and gamelan fusion. Explore his innovations, philosophy, and enduring influence.

Introduction

Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music theorist, instrument builder, and cultural synthesizer.

Harrison moved away from equal temperament into just intonation and other alternate tuning systems, using simple frequency ratios (e.g. 3:2, 5:4) to generate more resonant, consonant harmonic structures.

He designed instruments, retuned harps, built custom percussion sets, and adapted gamelan instruments to Western and experimental contexts.

His mature style favored clarity, melodic lyricism, rhythmic vitality, timbral richness, and a careful blending of sound worlds rather than stark dissonance.

Personal, Political, and Cultural Voices

Harrison was openly gay and incorporated themes of identity, social justice, and politics in some works.

He was also a proponent of Esperanto, and composed works with Esperanto texts (most famously La Koro Sutro) in recognition of his belief in universal communication.

He lived simply, often in semi-rustic homes in California, built a straw-bale house later in life, and maintained an aesthetic that emphasized the tangible, handcrafted, acoustic, and human scale.

Key Works & Contributions

Major Works

Lou Harrison’s output is wide and varied. Among his better-known works:

• Symphony on G (No. 1, 1947)

• Symphony No. 2 “Elegiac” (1942)

• Piano Concerto (1983–85), composed for a piano tuned in Kirnberger #2 temperament

• Last Symphony (No. 4) (1990, revised 1995)

• La Koro Sutro (in Esperanto, for chorus + gamelan)

• Concerto in Slendro (for gamelan influence)

• Orpheus (vocal / ensemble work)

• Rapunzel (opera)

He also composed many works for percussion, chamber ensembles, hybrid acoustic / gamelan settings, and music combining voice, instruments, and custom tuning.

Innovations & Impact

• Instrument building & American gamelan: Harrison and Colvig designed gamelan-inspired instruments tuned in just scales or hybrid tunings, including use of aluminum, tin cans, resonator tubes, and unusual materials.

• Tuning and ratio logic: His embrace of just intonation, interval control, and tuning as expressive device expanded the harmonic vocabulary for modern composers.

• Sonic synthesis across cultural traditions: He helped bring the sound world of gamelan and Asian percussion into Western concert settings in a deeply integrated way (not mere exoticism).

• Holistic artistry: Harrison’s work extended beyond music into calligraphy, painting, instrument construction, scores as visual art, and the blending of aesthetic, craft, and life.

Challenges & Personal Struggles

Harrison’s life was not without difficulties:

• His period in New York (c. 1943–1953) was fraught. He experienced homesickness, anxiety, and professional frustration, culminating in a mental breakdown in 1947.

• He had health and financial struggles throughout his life, often supplementing his income through varied jobs (e.g. florist, record salesman, forestry work) when musical income was insufficient.

• Toward the end of life, his longtime partner, William Colvig, developed serious health issues, including dementia, which Harrison attentively cared for.

• In February 2003, while en route to a festival in Ohio, Harrison collapsed at a Denny’s restaurant in Lafayette, Indiana, and died soon after (likely of heart failure).

Despite adversity, he persisted in composing, building instruments, mentoring, and embodying a life of coherent musical and personal values.

Legacy & Influence

• Pioneer of cross-cultural modernism: Harrison stands among a small number of 20th-century composers who deeply integrated non-Western musical traditions—not superficially but structurally—into Western concert music.

• Inspiration for new tunings & microtonality: His advocacy and creation of tunings beyond equal temperament influenced composers exploring microtonality, just intonation, and alternative systems.

• American gamelan movement: His instrument-building and ensembles laid groundwork for subsequent composers and ensembles interested in gamelan, hybrid percussion ensembles, and new timbral ecology.

• Renewed recognition in later years: Endorsements by conductors, festivals, and academic institutions (e.g. Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony) brought Harrison wider attention late in life and posthumously.

• Model of artisanal, life-integrated creativity: Harrison’s life demonstrates how musical creation, craftsmanship, philosophy, identity, and home environment can coherently merge.

Today, programming of his works, exhibitions of his instruments, and centennial celebrations help keep his spirit alive for new audiences.

Selected Quotations & Musical Philosophy

While Harrison was more often expressed through his music than verbose statements, his writings and interviews reveal key beliefs:

• On tuning and musicianship: He once said,

  “I’d long thought that I would love a time when musicians were numerate as well as literate. I’d love to be a conductor and say, ‘Now, cellos, you gave me 10:9 there, please give me a 9:8 instead.’”

• On musical essentials: He adopted a principle (echoing some advice from Schoenberg) to “use only the essentials” in his compositions.

• On cultural synthesis: Harrison regarded musical traditions as conversations. He ethically engaged with other musical cultures (not as colonizer but collaborator), aiming for respectful fusion rather than imitation.

• On life and creativity: His life embodied the belief that aesthetic choice, daily habits, personal values, and musical practice can form a unified path.

Lessons & Reflections

1. Artistic authenticity over trend chasing. Harrison refused to follow the dominant avant-garde dogmas of his time; instead, he followed a deeply personal trajectory.

2. Cultural humility in fusion. His approach to mixing Western and non-Western traditions demonstrates how respectful listening, deep learning, and craftsmanship are essential to meaningful synthesis.

3. Technical experimentation as expressive tool. Tuning and instrumentation were not mere curiosities, but expressive levers in his musical vocabulary.

4. Integration of life and art. Harrison built his houses, instruments, and life architecture aligned with his musical ideals.

5. Persistence through adversity. His resilience through breakdowns, career frustrations, health challenges, and changing musical fashion underscores the durability of inner vision.