Lou Harrison is gone

Message from Jody Diamond on the gamelan list:

I am sorry to report that Lou Harrison has passed away.

He was on the way to Ohio for a festival of his music and collapsed in
Chicago.
He recently finished a book of poems and gamelan music, and was planning
to
teach gamelan at Cabrillo College this term. Lou had also become
interested in a
new form of building that involved filling nylon tubes with clay and
coiling
them up to harden into domes.

Lou didn't stop for a moment. In our lives his art will go on.

jody diamond

I am sure we are all sad to hear this. Sigh.

Manuel

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, manuel.op.de.coul@e... wrote:

/tuning/topicId_42091.html#42091

> Message from Jody Diamond on the gamelan list:
>
> I am sorry to report that Lou Harrison has passed away.
>
> He was on the way to Ohio for a festival of his music and collapsed
in
> Chicago.
> He recently finished a book of poems and gamelan music, and was
planning
> to
> teach gamelan at Cabrillo College this term. Lou had also become
> interested in a
> new form of building that involved filling nylon tubes with clay
and
> coiling
> them up to harden into domes.
>
> Lou didn't stop for a moment. In our lives his art will go on.
>
> jody diamond
>
>
> I am sure we are all sad to hear this. Sigh.
>
> Manuel

***The bad news never ceases...

Joseph Pehrson

Sad news....

* David Beardsley
* microtonal guitar
* http://biink.com/db

manuel.op.de.coul@eon-benelux.com wrote:

> Message from Jody Diamond on the gamelan list:
>
> I am sorry to report that Lou Harrison has passed away.
>

He was one of the greatest inspirational figures in my musical development. And who is out there
to fill his boots?

Leta Miller, Lou's biographer, says that Lou died in Indianapolis. He had been picked up at the Chicago airport by some students who were driving him to Ohio State. He got up to go to the restroom and collapsed.

If ya gotta go, what a way to go: right in the middle of a trip to have your work honored once again. No need to even stop and think about death.

Kyle

Official word from the organizer of the festival Lou was appearing on:

Last night, while traveling from Chicago to Columbus, Lou Harrison passed
away. We had sent Adam Schweigert and Joe Panzner, two students in
Composition and Theory, to Chicago with a University van to greet Lou and
his traveling companion, Todd Burlingame, and drive them back to campus for
the Festival. Lou does not like to fly and took the train, the California
Zephyr, from near San Francisco to Chicago. The train arrived at about
5:15 PM. While en route to Indianapolis, their overnight destination,
Adam, Joe, Lou and Todd decided to stop at a Denny's restaurant in
Lafayette, Indiana, for some dinner. Lou stumbled and fell upon getting
out of the vehicle and apparently suffered a heart attack. He had great
difficulty breathing. Paramedics were called and they arrived within
minutes. Lou was transported to the hospital but was unable to be revived.
He passed away around 9 or 9:30 PM. We are awaiting the coroner's
report for final confirmation of the cause of death.

This is a great tragedy for the entire world of music. Lou was as excited
about the Festival as we were. Our sympathies go out to all in the world
of music and dance who treasured his great gift. I will always remember
the joy in his voice when we spoke over the telephone about the Festival.
He was an active participant in planning the concerts. He had also
prepared a special seminar for OSU students in composition. He was very
much looking forward to the CSO performances of his Third Symphony in a
final revision that he had just completed. He told me how honored he felt
to have so many of his compositions performed on the Festival. Let
everyone know that the Festival will go on as planned as a tribute to this
legendary American musician.

Lou Harrison will be cremated today; his remains shipped back to
California. He was eighty-five years old.

Donald Harris, Professor of Composition & Theory
School of Music, The Ohio State University

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Gann <kgann@e...> wrote:

/tuning/topicId_42091.html#42100

> Leta Miller, Lou's biographer, says that Lou died in Indianapolis.
He
> had been picked up at the Chicago airport by some students who were
> driving him to Ohio State. He got up to go to the restroom and
> collapsed.
>
> If ya gotta go, what a way to go: right in the middle of a trip to
> have your work honored once again. No need to even stop and think
> about death.
>
> Kyle

***Kyle is certainly right here. Think about it. LH didn't even
spend *one* final day in the hospital. Doesn't make it any less sad,
but Kyle is right, all composers should "sign up" for this kind of
ending...

Joe Pehrson

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Kyle Gann <kgann@e...> wrote:
>Leta Miller, Lou's biographer, says that Lou died in Indianapolis.

Sad, sad news. I feel privileged to have seen him speak twice,
in LA and San Jose. His Music Primer contains many truths, and
was part of my first order to the JIN store (along with Doty's
Primer, Bitter Music, and Michael Harrison's "From Ancient Worlds")
which formed my first impressions of the alternate-tuning
universe. I have since enjoyed much of his recorded music. In
fact, just 48 hours ago I ordered "Solo Keyboards" from New Albion.

>If ya gotta go, what a way to go: right in the middle of a trip
>to have your work honored once again. No need to even stop and
>think about death.

Here, here!

-Carl

> From: <manuel.op.de.coul@eon-benelux.com>
> To: <tuning@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 4:55 AM
> Subject: [tuning] Lou Harrison is gone
>
>
> Message from Jody Diamond on the gamelan list:
>
> I am sorry to report that Lou Harrison has passed away.
>
> He was on the way to Ohio for a festival of his music
> and collapsed in Chicago. He recently finished a book
> of poems and gamelan music, and was planning to
> teach gamelan at Cabrillo College this term. Lou
> had also become interested in a new form of building
> that involved filling nylon tubes with clay and coiling
> them up to harden into domes.
>
> Lou didn't stop for a moment. In our lives his art will go on.
>
> jody diamond
>
>
> I am sure we are all sad to hear this. Sigh.
>
> Manuel

yes, very sad. and just at a time when we were talking
about this latest event in which Lou was to be involved.

i'm really glad that i got the chance to meet him and
speak with him a bit at the 2001 Microfest in Claremont CA,
and now i'm sorry that we didn't keep in touch subsequently.

there's one great saying of his that i'll always remember:
"just intonation is the best intonation".

-monz