The Outsider: the Story of Harry Partch

The Outsider: the Story of Harry Partch

Shaunta Butler

A documentary about avant-garde composer Harry Partch. Broadcast on the BBC. 

American musical iconoclast Harry Partch believed that the 12-tone octave used for centuries in western music was fundamentally wrong, and so developed his own 43-note scale and sculpted instruments on which to play his music. Distancing himself from society, he lived a nomadic existence for much of his life, but his concept of "musical theatre" has influenced composers as diverse as Tom Waits and Philip Glass.