RADIO SHOW #30: A Century of Lou Harrison

This show, first broadcast on June 2, 2017, celebrates the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Lou Harrison. The beloved multi-cultural composer is represented with works of his that represent his interest in percussion music; his devotion to his teacher Arnold Schoenberg; his skill at employing just-intonation tunings; his commitment to Buddhism and Eastern music; his genius for gamelan composition; and his championing of the cause of gay rights. Quotations from my own interview with Harrison are included. The pieces played are:

LOU HARRISON

Canticle No. 1 (1940)

String Trio (1946)

Strict Songs (1955)

Avalokiteshvara (1964)

Serenade for Betty Freeman and Francesco Assetto (1978)

Double Concerto for violin, cello, and Javanese gamelan (1981)

Fourth Symphony (1990, rev. 1995)