Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Compositional Practice As Expression Of Cultural Hybridity In Lou Harrison’S Double Concerto For Violin, Cello, And Javanese Gamelan, Matthew N. Andrews

Student Research Symposium

Artists in the twenty-first century face a creative dilemma: styles and traditions from around the world are now available to all, and in the post-colonial era it can become difficult to discern the appropriateness of artistic borrowings. I propose that cultural hybridity, defined as genuine investment in another artistic culture's traditions and respect for its practitioners, can provide an “Ariadne's thread” to guide the interculturally sensitive artist. Lou Harrison's long relationship with the gamelan music (karawitan) of Indonesia provides an enlightening example. From his initial exposure to Asian music all through his decades of intensive study and instrument-building, Harrison's development …