Composed 1959; 20 minutes    

Lou Harrison holds a particularly special place in the heart of percussionists. Along with his friend and collaborator John Cage, Harrison was one of the first generation of classical composers to begin writing percussion ensemble music, with works dating back to the 1930s. While Cage developed his own vocabulary for percussion music that eschewed any attempts at melody or harmony in favor of timbral variety and rhythmic tension, Harrison’s style creates surprisingly lyrical lines even from “non-pitched” percussion instruments. Flower pots, brake drums and cowbells truly sing in Harrison’s work, allowing him to create and develop recognizable motives, and blend percussion seamlessly with other instruments.

TCP celebrated Lou Harrison’s Centenary in 2017 with performances and an HD video recording of the Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra with violinist Todd Reynolds, which can be found online.