Left Voices (Wallingford) for Conrad Harris

Composer: David Behrman

This is one of several pieces which embed fragments of voices, music or texts by politically active artists who devoted themselves to trying to make the world a better place. Left Voices (Wallingford) for Conrad Harris takes fragments from Wallingford Riegger's String Quartet #2 and weaves variations on them with the help of a Mac laptop.

I studied composition with Riegger in the Nineteen Fifties. I would go to his apartment for lessons twice a week; on alternate days the subject matter would switch between music matters (species counterpoint, 12-tone technique, form) and socialism. Wallingford Riegger's lessons were for me the source as much of political awareness as of musical craftsmanship.