Lou Harrison's later style is defined in part by his propensity to revise, rework, and borrow from his own compositions. In Harrison's Suite for Symphonic Strings (1960), the first piece in which borrowed from himself, he incorporated works that were written both before and after his most significant stylistic shift, resulting in the juxtaposition of strikingly contrasting styles. Such polystylism even carried over to works that did not borrow any pre-existing music, such as in his Symphony on G. Self-borrowing allowed the composer to restrict his compositional options and focus on novel reworkings and new combinations. The resulting polystylism was a direct result of Harrison's revisions and self-borrowings and became a hallmark of the composer's style.

Works: Lou Harrison: Suite for Symphonic Strings (86-91), Third Symphony (94-100).

Sources: Lou Harrison: Double Fugue (87-88, 90), Triphony (87-88, 91), Fugue for David Tudor (87), Almanac of the Seasons (87), Nocturne (87, 91, 93), Chorale for Spring (88-89), Largo ostinato (94, 96-98, 100-102), Reel to Henry Cowell (96), Waltz for Hinrichsen (96), Estampie for Summerfield (96), Political Primer (96).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Kerry O'Brien