Predictably unpredictably, Harbison finds ever more creative avenues

From large-scale works for the opera house and concert hall to intimate violin solos, John Harbison has created an abundant catalogue of music that engages in an extraordinary dialogue between past and present.  His compositions are typically atypical, as he continually seeks out fresh angles through with to reconsider the traditional forms, models, and styles that inspire him.  Whether his references are Henry Purcell, J.S. Bach, Stravinsky, or the idioms of jazz, the result never comes across as a facile eclecticism.  Rather, these are threads of a rigorously crafted language he has made into his own.

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