Many of Roy Harris's piano pieces were inspired by his wife, the pianist Johana Harris, who also edited his scores.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Roy Harris's musical language combines medieval chant, Baroque counterpoint, 20th-century French composers, and American and Irish folk music.
Recording & Production
This album features several world premiere recordings, including 'Untitled' (1926), an original version of the Piano Sonata's Scherzo, 'A Happy Piece for Shirley', and 'Orchestrations' (1972).
Composer Biography
Roy Harris, the composer, was born in a log cabin in the Oklahoma panhandle in 1898.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Roy Harris used 'chordal counterpoint' with polytonal sonorities to evoke the vastness of the American frontier in his music.
Composer Biography
Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3 (1938) brought him worldwide fame and has been performed and recorded by many great orchestras.
Composer Biography
Roy Harris studied with Nadia Boulanger, a renowned French composition teacher, in Paris from 1926 to 1929.
