Lou Harrison
A Composer to Be Remembered
Composer and former SJSU music instructor Lou Harrison was considered by many to be America's greatest living composer. His spirited, rhythmically vibrant and unabashedly beautiful music incorporated elements of Asian and Western styles in a highly personal synthesis. He was the last living link to a tradition of American experimental music that reached back to Charles Ives and included such influential figures as Henry Cowell, John Cage, and Harry Partch. He died February 1, 2003 in Lafayette, Indiana on his way to Columbus, Ohio for a week-long festival of his music. He was 85 years of age.
This Lou Harrison web site was developed under Lou's personal guidance and with the help of his archivist, Charles Hansen.
