Talk:Lou Harrison

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[edit] Meeting Lou Harrison

I was fortunate in 1969 to meet Lou Harrison at San Jose State University, following the wonderful all-Harrison concert presented by the San Jose State Music Department. There was a very large crowd in the auditorium and, although we did not always understand his musical language, most of us appreciated his originality and imagination. I had a chance to speak briefly to the composer, who had participated in some of the music by playing the unique Asian percussion instruments. To my surprise, he had a soft, rather high voice. He was a very gentle, considerate man with a wonderful smile. In some ways he resembled his friend Charles Ives, who also had a beard, but the conservative Ives had been troubled when another friend, Henry Cowell, had been arrested on a homosexual charge and one can only wonder if Ives knew or suspected that Harrison, too, had a secret life. By 1969, greater tolerance for homosexuality was becoming the norm, especially in California, and it really didn't matter to the students how Harrison chose to lead his life. We only recognized his great creativity and this became more apparent as more of his music was performed and even recorded. Fortunately, I taped most of that 1969 concert on a portable reel-to-reel recorder and I have since copied the aging tape to an audio cassette, which will make it possible to "burn" a CD of the performance. Sallyrob 16:53, 7 September 2007 (UTC)