One of the best selling rock artists of all time, Eddie Van Halen, died after a battle with cancer at the age of 65. He was a legendary guitar virtuoso, known for his blistering solos of blinding speed and innovation, which elevated him to the status of a rock god icon for decades. His playing is immortalized on his recordings, numerous film soundtracks – and in a favor to producer Quincy Jones. Without asking for any credit or compensation, he rearranged a section and played the guitar solo on Michael Jackson’s mega hit, Beat It.
Eddie and his brother Alex were born in Amsterdam. Their father, a Dutch jazz pianist, and their mother, an Eurasian from the Dutch East Indies, moved to the US in 1962. Both boys took piano lessons in the hope they would become classical pianists. But Eddie turned to the guitar, and Alex the drums, and as teenagers they formed the band that would become known as Van Halen. Their energetic live shows drew sold out audiences internationally, and they sold 56 million albums in the US and another 80 million worldwide, with 13 number-one hits on the bIllboard charts.
Among those who were listening were Evan Ziporyn and Christine Southworth, both of whom have become distinguished American composers and are married. Christine’s compositions have been performed throughout the US, Europe and Indonesia, with her music heard at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, EMPAC, and available on her four recordings. She’s earned numerous awards and commissions working with artists and ensembles like Yo-Yo Ma, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Silk Road Ensemble, the Kronos and Calder Quartets, American Composers Forum and New England Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of Gamelan Galak Tika and composed several pieces for the group.
Evan has also composed and collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Bang On A Can, SilkRoad, and also has toured with Paul Simon and the Steve Reich Ensemble, released two albums of his orchestral works with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and reimagined David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, in an orchestral setting. He is the Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT where he directs the Gamelan Galak Tika ensemble and MIT’s Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST).
When I began planning the the Open Source Music Festival, I approached the married composer couple to create a piece for solo piano based on an existing work. They agreed, and chose the Van Halen tune, Right Now, reimagining it into Don’t Want To Wait. Take a moment to listen to the amazing new music they created.