Lou Harrison
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Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to
Portrait of a young Harrison at the piano, c. early 1940s
Lou (left) and Bill Harrison (right), c. early 1920s
Harrison considered Henry Cowell (pictured) his greatest musical inspiration and one of his closest friends
Harrison developed a deep interest in the traditional gamelan ensembles of southern Indonesia (pictured)
Henry Cowell
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Henry Dixon Cowell was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher, and music teacher. Earning a reputation as an extremely controversial performer and eccentric composer, Cowell became a leading
Lou Harrison
…creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his former teacher and contemporary, Henry Cowell, but later moved toward incorporating elements of non-Western cultures into his work. Notable examples include a number of pieces written for Javanese…
Henry playing the violin — aged 5 (c. 1902)
The original manuscript to Dynamic Motion (1916), showing the young Cowell's early methods for notating large piano clusters
Cowell playing the piano, demonstrating his "forearm" technique by slamming down with his right arm on the middle register, c. 1920s