Larry Polansky


Larry Polansky was an American composer, guitarist, mandolinist, and academic.

Biography

Polansky was born on October 16, 1954, in New York City to first-generation Jewish-American parents. He grew up in Valley Stream, Nassau County, Long Island. He became fascinated with the guitar from an early age, which remained central to his work throughout his life. He failed his senior-year English class but was allowed to graduate from high school in 1972 due to high SAT scores.
The brother of the writer Steven Polansky, Polansky read mathematics and music at the University of California, Santa Cruz, graduating in 1977. He served on the faculty of Dartmouth College and held the title of Emeritus Strauss Professor of Music upon his retirement from Dartmouth. He subsequently returned to UCSC and served on the UCSC music faculty from 2013 to 2019. He was a founding member and co-director of Frog Peak Music. He co-wrote HMSL with Phil Burk and David Rosenboom.
There are several recordings of his work, including Four-Voice Canons. He served as co-producer of Asmat Dream: New Music Indonesia, Vol. I.
Polansky was previously married to ethnomusicologist and performer Jody Diamond. Music historian and musician Amy C. Beal was his long time partner and frequent musical collaborator.
Polansky died on May 9, 2024, at the age of 69.

Discography

Source:
  • freeHorn
  • Three Pieces for Two Pianos
  • The World's Longest Melody
  • The Theory of Impossible Melody
  • Trios
  • Four Voice Canons
  • Change
  • Lonesome Road
  • ''Simple Harmonic Motion''