Richard Horowitz, a renowned composer who studied under La Monte Young and collaborated with Jon Hassell, has reportedly died at the age of 75. Horowitz had reportedly been battling Parkinson’s disease for some time now.
The announcement of his death was made by his wife Sussan Deyhim, who said in an Instagram post,
“A musical maverick, father, partner, lover, collaborator, friend, and singular human left us yesterday. For those of you who didn’t know, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2021 and relocated to Morocco to live out the remainder of his life in a country he adored.”
Sussan Deyhim
RVNG International, a record label that had worked with Horowitz in the past, made the following remembrance post on their Instagram about the late genius composer,
Richard Horowitz passed away this morning in marrakech, in the company of Sussan Deyhim, his life and creative partner, at the age of 75. Richard was battling Parkinson’s for the past several years, and Sussan relocated him from los angeles to morocco, his spiritual home, for care and comfort in the company of friends
We had the honor of working with richard on a reissue of eros in arabia via freedom to send, originally released in 1981 under the name drahcir ztiworoh (read it backwards).
While eros is an innovative, otherworldly album, it was just one thread in an incredible tapestry of music he was a part of. richard studied under lamonte young, recorded and toured extensively with jon hassell, collaborated with ryuchi sakamoto on film work, and founded the gnaoua music festival in mogador. his travels in northern africa introduced him to the ney cane flute, and to brion gysin and paul bowles, the latter whom mentored richard over decades of correspondence.
Obituary to Richard
Pitchfork reports on his death,
In 1981, Horowitz entered two important partnerships: the first with vocalist, dancer, and composer Sussan Deyhim—his future wife—and the second with Jon Hassell, who swiftly invited Horowitz to join his touring operation and work on records, including Power Spot, that synthesized ancient mysticism and modern music technology. The same year, he released Eros in Arabia, his formal debut album, under the moniker Drahcir Ztiworoh; it has since been heralded as a formative work in the development of American minimalism.
Throughout the decade, Horowitz collaborated with artists including David Byrne and Brian Eno and jazz greats such as Anthony Braxton, before partnering with Sakamoto for the North African–set romance movie The Sheltering Sky in 1990. He spent much of his life in Morocco, and, in 1998, co-founded the Gnawa and World Music Festival in the city of Essaouira, now attended by some half a million people each year. Around the same time, he was working on the score for what would become his best-known soundtrack, to Oliver Stone’s 1999 sports thriller Any Given Sunday.
Pitchfork
Rest in peace, legend!
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