Post-Classical Ensemble Presents the Gamelan Music of American Composer Lou Harrison
Though Harrison is a legendary figure on the West Coast, where he lived and worked, his music is rarely heard elsewhere in the US. Harrison’s unique achievement will be celebrated for the first time in Washington, DC when Post-Classical Ensemble produces a three-day festival, Sublime Confluence: The Music of Lou Harrison, in collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy, the Film Division of the National Gallery of Art, and The George Washington University. The three events are:
- The world premiere screening of the documentary: “Lou Harrison: A World of Music” by Eva Soltes, National Gallery of Art, East Building Auditorium, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011, at 4 pm (FREE)
- “Lou Harrison: Gamelan,” a gamelan concert with commentary and historic films at the Indonesian Embassy — Friday, March 4, 2011, at 7:30 pm (FREE)
- A Post-Classical Ensemble concert with gamelan and orchestra, at The George Washington University Lisner Auditorium — Saturday, March 5, 2011, at 8 pm.
Tickets: $55, $45, $35, $25 and $15 (Students with I.D.), box office: 202-994-6800, www.lisner.org Post-Classical Ensemble Artistic Director Joseph Horowitz comments: “Lou Harrison’s Piano Concerto – which the Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed called “the great American concerto” a few years ago – is an American masterpiece in which gamelan styles contribute to an epic evocation of wide horizons and ceremonial energies. His Strict Songs for chorus and orchestra, which we are also performing, is Harrison at his most serene: a celebration of the spiritual wholeness he discovered in California upon leaving the stress and noise of Manhattan.” The Post-Classical Ensemble concert will also include film clips and commentary. The Indonesian Embassy event features the Indonesian Embassy Gamelan and a festival keynote by Bill Alves, a master authority on Harrison and gamelan, who will explore and illustrate how gamelan inflects the Harrison style. The gamelan master Sumarsam, in a response, will explore the impact of Westerners like Harrison in Indonesia. Historic films of Javanese performers will be shown. Full program information: LOU HARRISON: A WORLD OF MUSIC World Premiere screening of a new documentary film by Eva Soltes, Saturday, February 26, 2011, 4 pm (free admission) National Gallery of Art, East Building Auditorium, Fourth Street at Pennsylvania Avenue NW www.nga.gov. Information: 202 737 4215 LOU HARRISON: GAMELAN Friday, March 4, 2011, 7:30 pm (free admission) Indonesian Embassy, 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC An exploration of the influence of Javanese culture on the music and life of Lou Harrison – and the influence of Western culture on Indonesia. With the Indonesian Embassy Gamelan and speakers Bill Alves and Sumarsam and historic films of Javanese performers. LOU HARRISON CONCERT Saturday, March 5, 2011, 8 pm (Tickets $25, $35, $45, $55, ($15 for students) Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st Street NW, Washington, DC www.lisner.org. Box Office: 202 994 6800 Benjamin Pasternack and Lisa Moore, pianists Wesleyan University Gamelan (Sumarsam and Harjito, directors) The George Washington University chorus Film clips from Eva Soltes’ documentary “Lou Harrison: A World of Music” Post-Classical Ensemble conducted by Angel Gil-Ordóñez Javanese gamelan music Harrison: Concerto for Piano and Javanese Gamelan Harrison: Bubaran Robert for Trumpet and Javanese Gamelan Harrison: Strict Songs for chorus and orchestra Harrison: Piano Concerto FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.POST-CLASSICALENSEMBLE.ORG OR CALL US AT 202-966-8778. DISCOUNTS APPLY TO GROUPS OF 10 OR MORE FOR THE LISNER P-CE CONCERT.