May is a popular month to be born in: Lou Harrison shares his May 15 birthday with Claudio Monteverdi and May 17 is Eric Satie’s big day. Once again alphabetical order comes to the dictates preference. Lou Harrison’s name may not be as famous as the other two guys, but he was a marvelously creative guy, into everything from astronomy to Esperanto.
He had personal links to dozens of “avant-garde” (experimental) composers from Charles Ives to John Cage to Henry Cowell to John Luther Adams (a composer he taught). His music is totally approachable, though, in contrast to some other high modernists. His range of compositions was as wide as his interests, but you’ll always find great melody in a Harrison piece. Find out more about Harrison, listen to his music, find links and other goodies in SFCV’s composer biography.