- Born
- Died
- Birth nameLou Silver Harrison
- Nickname
- The Santa Claus of New Music
- Lou Harrison was born on May 14, 1917 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Shutter Island (2010), Sous le signe du lion (1960) and Dance Chromatic (1959). He died on February 2, 2003 in Lafayette, Indiana, USA.
- Likes the "gamelan" which produces soothing music. He has used the gamelan in several of his classical music compositions.
- Survived by his companion, Todd Burlingame.
- Died while travelling to a festival of his music at Ohio State University.
- Inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 1985.
- His music is typically spartan in texture but lyrical, and harmony usually simple or sometimes lacking altogether, with the focus instead being on rhythm and melody. Ned Rorem describes, "Lou Harrison's compositions demonstrate a variety of means and techniques. In general he is a melodist. Rhythm has a significant place in his work, too. Harmony is unimportant, although tonality is. He is one of the first American composers to successfully create a workable marriage between Eastern and Western forms.".
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