American music has a rich history of bending and transforming genres, and Harry Bulow’s PIANO WORKS continues this tradition with expressively modern flair. Five pieces for piano performed by Haewon Yang and John Noel Roberts explore the effects of time and play on compositions, showcasing how tweaks and changes expose new elements, like a river carving through stone, revealing new layers of textures and vibrant colors.
Today, Harry is our featured artist in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about the director that had a dramatic impact on his artistic journey, and the positive affirmations that continue to inspire him…
What have been your biggest inspirations on your musical journey?
Like many musicians, there are one or two people or moments that dramatically impact our lives. For me, it was Louis Campliglia. He was my junior high school band director and later conductor of the San Diego Youth Symphony. I played in both groups. “Mr. C,” as he was called by his students, made music come alive and showed us how significant and important it is to life. He was very strict and demanding, but the results were magical. Many of us who played in his groups became professional musicians and worked the rest of our lives to help others understand the meaning and significance of making music.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
From as far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a medical doctor. That all changed with my experience in junior and senior high school. The band and orchestra programs from that point on became my primary focus.
Where and when are you at your most creative?
We often hear that one might write a novel or great play, if only they had the time and the right place in which to write. I am not a believer in that perspective. Writers can write in almost any context. They are constantly thinking about ideas and how things intersect with each other. You can write on a city bus, if you really want to write. At the core, is the idea. Thinkers are constantly thinking about their ideas and music is first and foremost about ideas. Music often inspires emotional responses, but it is essentially about ideas, albeit, musical ideas.
What’s the greatest performance you’ve ever seen, and what made it special?
This is not the greatest performance I ever heard, but one evening a friend and I went to hear Pinchase Zukerman perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. I believe he played one or both of the Bartok Violin Concertos during the first half of the program. As the orchestra re-entered to perform the second half, I saw that Mr. Zukerman was sitting in the second violin section. They were playing Beethoven’s Third Symphony. As everyone knows, at the very beginning of the work there are two big chords followed by silences. Everyone must be together. Well, before the second chord sounded, we heard a very loud and pronounced second violin part screech out before anyone else played. It was Pinchas Zukerman.This was a good example of the imperfections of life. Even the great performers, composers, and artists of all ilk, make mistakes. It is important to keep going. It may not be the greatest performance, but a good learning experience.
What advice would you give to your younger self, if given the chance?
There are always ebbs and flows in life. Sometimes there are very few people taking an interest in your work or you might find yourself in a musical desert. Like the story above about Pinchas Zukerman, keep going. Your best days are still ahead.
How have your influences changed as you grow as a musician?
As time goes by, I am less inspired by my surroundings and more by the musical idea itself. How can I draw from what is implied in the musical structures I am working with? Where do they logically lead and am I capturing their true meaning and significance? I listen less to other composers and more to my own musical impulses. This is the only way I feel I can be authentic and genuine to my own ideas.
Harry Bulow received his bachelor's degree in music education from San Diego State University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in music theory and composition from UCLA. His principal composition teachers include Aaron Copland, Henri Lazarof, Roy Travis, and David Ward-Steinman. His works have received numerous awards including First Prize at the International Composers Competition in Trieste, Italy, the “Oscar Espla” Prize from the city of Alicante, Spain, a National Endowment for the Arts Composer Fellowship, and 35 consecutive ASCAP Plus Awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
