Milestones of the Millennium: East Meets West

East Meets West
with Lou Harrison

On this edition of Milestones of the Millennium, we explore Eastern influences on Western classical music. During the hour, host Lisa Simeone is joined by composer Lou Harrison to discuss the continuing amalgamation of Eastern and Western music in the modern era.

There is a long tradition of musicians who have responded to the exotic sounds of far away lands and assimilated such elements into their own music. Much of the music we hear today reflects this ongoing acquisition of ideas and techniques, making music itself seem like a museum full of artifacts collected from centuries of travel, trade and conquest. Our musical journey begins in Vienna, where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his "Rondo alla Turca" to convey an Austrian's idea of the mysterious melodies of Ottoman Turks. To us, Mozart's idea of Turkish music sounds a lot like Mozart; he mainly used Turkish elements as a spice, having never visited the land himself. Beethoven also drew on Western notions of Turkish music with his "Chorus of the Dervishes." We hear Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra perform the "Chorus of Dervishes" from Beethoven's "The Ruins of Athens."

At the Paris World's Fair of 1889, French composer Claude Debussey was transfixed by the music and dance of Javanese performers. He constantly returned to the pavilion to hear the percussive, enchanting tones of the Javanese Gamelan ensemble. Debussey wrote that this music conveyed "every shade of meaning" and his later interpretations drew not only on the tonal qualities, but the philosophies of the music and culture. Debussey's "Pagodes" uses repeating cycles of melodies, which convey a timeless quality that departs from the linear form of most Western composition up to this time. We hear pianist Leif Ove Andsnes play Debussy's "Pagodes" in concert in Aspen, Colorado. We also hear Alex Pauk and the Esprit Orchestra perform "Tabuh-Tabuhan," music inspired by the Balinese Gamelan and written by Canadian composer Colin McPhee.

In the 20th century, the potential for direct interaction between musical cultures has increased dramatically with the speed of transportation. For example, composer Philip Glass has worked extensively with Indian virtuoso sitarist Ravi Shankar. We hear "Ragas and Minor Scales," a collaboration between Glass and Shankar. Californian Lou Harrison spent the early 60s in Japan and Korea and has continued to make a contribution to the process of amalgamation he sees occurring among the musical cultures of the Pacific Rim. To Harrison, the distinctions between Eastern and Western music are becoming artificial in the sense that we are now much more familiar with all such forms of expression. Harrison often incorporates elements of Eastern music into his work, though he admits there are some challenges stemming from the different tuning structures of the instruments themselves. We hear a movement from Harrison's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, with Javanese Gamelan.

Listen as Lisa and Lou Harrison guide us on a musical journey from East to West and discuss the evolving cross-cultural music of the Pacific Rim, on this edition of Milestones of the Millenium. Note: Some music parts have been edited from the commentary due to internet rights issues. (This audio segment requires the free RealPlayer 5.0 or higher. You can also listen with a 14.4 connection)