One of the earliest American composers to draw inspiration from the East was Alan Hovhaness, whose centennial is being celebrated this year. An interesting piece by Larry Rohter about Hovhaness' life and influence appeared in Friday's New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/arts/music/american-mystic-marks-alan-hovhanesss-centennial.html?_r=1&ref=arts
Thanks for this! I've not paid much attention to Hovhaness' music. I really enjoyed this article, except for how the author continually refers to people as "Mr. Jarret" etc.
ReplyDeleteI love Hovhaness' music! Even if all 500 or so opus numbers sound more or less the same (meandering modalities interspersed with brass chorales and strict double, triple, or quadruple fugues) his music is never less than attractive and makes a nice change of pace from other styles.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave, for the post, even though I am reading this about two weeks late.