http://www.suntimes.com/output/music/sho-sunday-bach09.html Here they are: Burt Bacharach, Ronald Isley and the music November 9, 2003 BY DAVE HOEKSTRA STAFF REPORTER EXCERPT BELOW
When Bacharach landed at New York City's fabled Brill Building in 1957 and was paired up with lyricist David, he brought a unique dimension to the partnership.
Bacharach had studied with experimental composer Darius Milhaud in Santa Barbara, Calif., at the Music Academy of the West, to which he received a scholarship. Bacharach also was a fan of Lou Harrison, regarded as the father of the West Coast avant-garde scene.
"Studying with Darius was very important, if for no other reason, when I wrote a sonatina [for oboe, violin and piano] I was almost embarrassed to play the piece for him. There were five of us in the class. The second movement was pretty melodic by [the standards of] what was going on in the rest of the class, and I was thinking about what was supposed to be 'proper' in writing classical music.
"Afterward he told me to never be self-conscious about writing something that has a melody. That had a very big impact. A validation.
"Lou Harrison once wrote this thing for [dancer] Martha Graham on commission. It was a 12-, 14- minute piece and eight minutes of silence. And she didn't want to pay for that commission. But he was making a statement that silence was really important in what made the music. I could relate to that.