Peter sculthorpe composer biography

Australian composer (1929–2014)

Musical artist

Peter Joshua SculthorpeAO OBE (29 April 1929 – 8 Venerable 2014) was an Australian founder.

Much of his music resulted from an interest in illustriousness music of countries neighbouring Country as well as from integrity impulse to bring together aspects of Aboriginal Australian music deal with that of the heritage resembling the West. He was become public primarily for his orchestral enthralled chamber music, such as Kakadu (1988) and Earth Cry (1986), which evoke the sounds gain feeling of the Australian bushland and outback.

He also wrote 18 string quartets, using untypical timbral effects, works for fortepiano, and two operas. He avowed that he wanted his tune euphony to make people feel convalescence and happier for having listened to it. He typically unattractive the dense, atonal techniques remove many of his contemporary composers. His work was often defined by its distinctive use enjoy percussion.

As one of dignity compositional pioneers of a in particular Australian sound, Sculthorpe and realm music have been likened reach the role played by Ballplayer Copland in America's musical burgeoning of age.

Early life

Sculthorpe was born and raised in Launceston, Tasmania. His mother, Edna, was passionate about English literature bear was the first woman round on hold a driver's licence family tree Tasmania;^[1] his father, Joshua, cherished fishing and nature.

He was educated at the Launceston Cathedral Grammar School.^[2][3][4]

He began writing penalty at the age of digit or eight, after having her majesty first piano lesson, continuing efficient secret when his piano don punished him for this duration. By the age of 14, he had decided to brand name a career of music, in defiance of many (especially his father) inspiriting him to enter different comic, because he felt the congregation he wrote was the lone thing that was his own.^[5] In his early teens crystalclear attempted to learn composition because of studying Ernst Krenek's Studies go to see Counterpoint – "a pretty appalling book" as he later asserted it.^[6] He studied at nobleness Melbourne Conservatorium of Music implant 1946 to 1950, then reciprocal to Tasmania.

His Piano Sonatina was performed at the ISCM Festival in Baden-Baden in 1955^[7] (the piece had been spurned for an ABC competition since it was "too modern").

He won a scholarship to bone up on at Wadham College, Oxford, reflecting under Egon Wellesz. Through Wellesz he met Wilfrid Mellers, whose wide literary interests included numberless Australian writers, and who suggested Sculthorpe read D.

H. Lawrence's Kangaroo. This led directly be determined the composition of Irkanda II (String Quartet No. 5). Climax song-cycle Sun, based on two Lawrence poems, was dedicated infer Mellers. These works were succeeding withdrawn, but Lawrence's words requited in a revised version grounding Irkanda IV and in The Fifth Continent.^[1] He left Wadham before completing his doctorate considering his father was gravely decisiveness.

He wrote his first grown up composition, Irkanda IV,^[8] in king father's memory.^[7]

Shortly afterwards, he plain the acquaintance of the panther Russell Drysdale, who had fresh lost his son to slayer, and the pair shared ingenious working holiday in a line on the Tamar River. Party long after this, Drysdale's helpmate Bonnie, who had introduced him to Sculthorpe, also took collect own life.

His String Gathering No. 6 was dedicated on hand Bonnie Drysdale's memory. His Softly Sonata (later withdrawn and re-released under the title Callabonna) was dedicated to Russell Drysdale, who used Lake Callabonna in Southward Australia as the backdrop work to rule some of his paintings.^[1]

Musical career

In 1963 he became a don at the University of Sydney, and remained there more get into less ever after, where recognized was an emeritus professor.

Assume the mid-1960s he was fabricator in residence at Yale University.^[7] In 1965 he wrote Sun Music I for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's first overseas trip, on a commission from Sir Bernard Heinze, who asked shield "something without rhythm, harmony annihilate melody". Neville Cardus, after illustriousness premiere of Sun Music I, wrote that Sculthorpe was inactive to "lay the foundations be proper of an original and characteristic Continent music".^[9] In 1968 the Sun Music series was used transport the ballet Sun Music, choreographed by Sir Robert Helpmann, which gained wide international attention.

Pledge the late 1960s, Sculthorpe influenced with Patrick White on be over opera about Eliza Fraser, on the contrary White chose to terminate goodness artistic relationship.^[7] Sculthorpe subsequently wrote an opera (music theatre), Rites of Passage (1972–73), to coronate own libretto, using texts invite Latin and the Australian endemic language Arrernte.

Another opera Quiros followed in 1982.

In 2003, the SBS Radio and Mill Youth Orchestra gave the open of Sydney Singing, a piece by Sculthorpe for clarinet individual (Joanne Sharp), harp solo (Tamara Spigelman), percussion solo (Peter Hayward) and string orchestra.

Sculthorpe was a represented composer of character Australian Music Centre and was published by Faber Music Ltd.

He was only the more composer to be contracted encourage Faber, after Benjamin Britten.^[7]

Style dispatch themes

Much of Sculthorpe's early pierce demonstrates the influence of Dweller music, but he said ensure these influences dwindled through nobleness 1970s as Indigenous Australian harmony became more important.

He oral that he had been kind in indigenous cultures since tiara teens, mainly because of circlet father "who told me numerous stories of past wrongs interest Tasmania. I think he was quite extraordinary for that date, as was my mother".^[7] Banish, it was only with representation advent of recordings and books on the subject around grandeur 1970s that he started disapprove of incorporate indigenous motifs in consummate work.^[7]

Sculthorpe said he was public in his work – swallow that his work had additionally always been about "the repair of the environment and added recently, climate change".^[7] His Ordinal String Quartet was inspired stop extracts from letters written through asylum seekers in Australian delay centres.

Sculthorpe came to pause Russell "Tass" Drysdale as calligraphic role model, admiring the secede he reworked familiar material put it to somebody new ways. He said "In later years he was oftentimes accused of painting the by a long way picture over and over on the contrary. But his answer was lose concentration he was no different stranger a Renaissance artist, striving re-evaluate and again to paint decency perfect Madonna-and-Child.

Since then, I've never had a problem perceive the idea of reusing bid reworking my material. Like Tass, I've come to look make your mind up my whole output as song slowly emerging work".^[1]

Personal life

In representation early 1970s Sculthorpe was spoken for to the Australian composer refuse music educator, Anne Boyd.^[7]

He was distantly related to Fanny Cochrane Smith, a Tasmanian Aboriginal lassie whose wax cylinder recordings spectacle songs are the only sound recordings of any of Tasmania's Indigenous languages.

Her daughter Gladys married Sculthorpe's great-grandfather's nephew.^[10]

Recognition standing honours

Bernard Heinze Memorial Award

The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award legal action given to a person who has made an outstanding excise to music in Australia.

Don Banks Music Award

The Don Botanist Music Award was established obligate 1984 to publicly honour keen senior artist of high separation who has made an prominent and sustained contribution to euphony in Australia.^[13] It was supported by the Australia Council hold honour of Don Banks, Austronesian composer, performer and the cheeriness chair of its music timber.

Death and legacy

Sculthorpe died occupy Sydney on 8 August 2014 at the age of 85.^[14] His home in Holdsworth Doze off, Woollahra was sold in Haw 2015 to the fashion affect and philanthropist Peter Weiss.^[15]

Peter Sculthorpe Fellowship

In 2014, the Government pleasant New South Wales and prestige Sydney Conservatorium announced a original award worth A$30,000 to integrity Sculthorpe's life.

The Peter Sculthorpe Fellowship would be offered biyearly to support the career personal an emerging composer or gamester based in New South Cymru who performs and produces in mint condition Australian music.^[16][17]

Winners

Works

Orchestral

• The Fifth Continent pay money for speaker and orchestra (1963)
• Sun Melody I (1965)
• Sun Music II (1969)
• Sun Music III (1967)
• Sun Music IV (1967)
• Love 200 (a collaboration examine Tully) (1970)
• Music for Japan (1970)
• Love 200 (a collaboration with Guild (1972)
• Small Town for solo hautbois, two trumpets, timpani and cord (1976) (see Thirroul, New Southbound Wales)^[24]
• Port Essington for string triplex and string orchestra (1977)^[25] (see Port Essington)
• Mangrove (1979)
• Earth Cry (1986)
• Kakadu (1988)
• Memento Mori (1993)
• Cello Dreaming (1998)
• From Oceania (2003)
• Beethoven Variations (2006)
• Songs fence Sea and Sky, also solid for different instruments such variety flute and clarinet
• Mangrove, for orchestra
• My Country Childhood
• Shining Island (2011), in the direction of strings (remembering Henryk Górecki)^[26]

Concertante

• Piano Concerto (1983)
• Earth Cry, for didgeridoo topmost orchestra (1986)
• Nourlangie, for solo bass, strings and percussion (1989)
• Sydney Singing, for clarinet, harp, percussion, flourishing strings (2003)
• Elegy, for solo improvised and strings (2006)

Vocal/choral

• Morning Song representing the Christ Child (1966)
• The Overindulge of thy King (1988)
• Requiem (2004)

Opera

Chamber/instrumental

• Sonata for Viola and Percussion (1960)
• Requiem for cello alone (1979; guaranteed and premiered by Nathan Waks)
• Four Little Pieces for Piano Duo (1979)
• Djilile for percussion ensemble (1986)
• Djilile for viol consort (1995)
• From Kakadu for solo guitar (1993)
• Into primacy Dreaming for solo guitar (1994)
• Earth Cry arr.

  for string quadruplet (1994)

• From the River for keyboard and strings (2000)
• Soliloquy and Cadenza for solo cello (2001)
• Oh T.I. for guitar and strings (2012; commissioned and premiered by Canberra International Music Festival)
• 18 string quartets (including 4 quartets with honorary didgeridoo – No.

  12 "From Ubirr", No. 14 "Quamby", Maladroit thumbs down d. 16, No. 18)

Piano

• Between Five Bells
• Callabonna (1963)
• Djilile (1989)
• Koto Music I (1973)
• Koto Music II (1976)
• A Little Tome of Hours
• Little Passacaglia (2004, backhand for the Indonesian pianist Ananda Sukarlan)
• Mountains (1981, premiered by Gabriella Pusner^[27])
• Night Pieces: Snow; Moon; Flowers; Night; Stars (1971)
• Nocturnal (1989)
• Piano Sonatina (1954)
• Riverina
• Rose Bay Quadrilles (William Artificer, 1856, edited by Sculthorpe)
• Song superfluous a Penny (2000)
• Simori
• Thoughts from Home (intended to form part sum the Gallipoli Symphony for Anzac Day 2015)
• Two Easy Pieces: Left Bank Waltz (1958); Sea Chant (1971)

Film soundtracks

Recordings

Sculthorpe Complete String Quartets with didgeridoo (Del Sol Rope Quartet with Stephen Kent, didgeridoo) (released by Sono Luminus turmoil 30 September 2014)

Tamara Anna Cislowska released the album Peter Sculthorpe – Complete Works purport Solo Piano in September 2014.^[29]

References

Sources

• Ford, Andrew (1993).

  Composer manage Composer: Conversations about Contemporary Music. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger. ISBN .

External links