{"id":2382,"date":"2022-11-28T14:30:11","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T19:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2022-11-28T14:30:14","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T19:30:14","slug":"lou-harrison-and-cultural-fusion-on-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/uq\/2022\/11\/lou-harrison-and-cultural-fusion-on-npr.html","title":{"rendered":"Lou Harrison and Cultural Fusion on NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While the present-day conflation of the arts with instruments for social justice is dangerously overdrawn, some musical experiences are unquestionably therapeutic, and some composers are more wholesome than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My most recent \u201cMore than Music\u201d NPR radio documentary<\/a><\/strong> celebrates \u201cLou Harrison and Cultural Fusion.\u201d Of Harrison\u2019s music, I observe:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s terms, it was \u2018global\u2019 and \u2018inclusive.\u2019 It celebrates \u2018diversity.\u2019 . . . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne cultural influence that proved crucial for Harrison was Indonesian \u2013 the palpitating gamelan orchestras of Java —  percussion ensembles which reject directional Western harmonies in favor of a kind of poetic stasis. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was an early apostle for gay rights. He campaigned for world peace. He enfolded both East and West \u2013 without ever dabbling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2019Globalization,\u2019 we are told, can mean diffusion \u2013 a thinning of the cultural fabric, an unmooring from tradition. Lou Harrison \u2013 the man, the musician — was both global and anchored. The absorption of gamelan in such works as his Piano Concerto is so complete that the Harrison style, global influences notwithstanding, is all of a piece; the finished product cannot be called \u2018eclectic.\u2019 But it could be called \u2018American.\u2019 Harrison\u2019s perennial optimism, his self-made, learn-by-doing, try-everything approach, his polyglot range of affinities are all New World traits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was a composer far ahead of his time. We should aspire to catch up with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 50-minute broadcast extensively samples Harrison\u2019s majestic Piano Concerto \u2013 the most formidable by any American, music American orchestras should please program.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A LISTENING GUIDE:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

00:00 \u2013 Exploring junk percussion and Harrison\u2019s Concerto for Violin and Percussion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12:00 \u2013 Javanese gamelan and its influence on Debussy (14:30) and Ravel (15:30)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17:40 \u2013 Balinese gamelan and its influence on Colin McPhee<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21:30 \u2013 Bill Alves demonstrates the layers of Javanese gamelan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23:55 \u2013 Exploring Harrison\u2019s Piano Concerto<\/p>\n\n\n\n

35:00 \u2013 Lou Harrison the man, with Sumarsam, Bill Alves, Dennis Russell Davies, and Jody Diamond<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A related blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Lou Harrison Centenary<\/a><\/blockquote>