Australian Composers

Started by ComposerOfAvantGarde, July 16, 2016, 07:30:55 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

ComposerOfAvantGarde

I thought it'd be good to start a national thread for all Australian composers because I can't imagine that individual threads for composers whose works are barely known outside of Australia would kick off.

Sculthorpe has been discussed recently and it is pretty cool that his name is known around this part of the internet.

Here is a list of a few composers whose works I particularly enjoy (who aren't represented by individual threads) with a link to a biography and a representative composition:

Anthony Pateras b. 1979, Melbourne.
Refractions for percussion ensemble.

Brett Dean b. 1961, Brisbane.
Violin Concerto 'The Lost Art of Letter Writing.

Liza Lim b. 1966, Perth.
The Heart's Ear for ensemble.

David Chisholm b. 1970......Melbourne? (couldn't find exact location)
Golden Fur for cello, clarinet and electronic harmonium.

Chris Dench b. 1953, London (bit of a stretch including him on here, but he IS an Australian citizen since 1992 and he IS—most importantly—a represented composer on the Australian Music Centre).
Beyond Status Geometry for percussion quartet.

Brenton Broadstock b. 1952, Melbourne.
Festive Overture for orchestra.

John Antill b. 1904, Sydney, d. 1986.
Corroboree ballet score for orchestra.

I've also been trying to find some music by Caerwen Martin on the internet but it proves to be very difficult.........


Maestro267

I haven't heard a lot of Australian classical music, but Brett Dean's Vexations and Devotions was the first modern work I ever heard, at a Proms concert in 2007. It was coupled with Beethoven 7, which was the item I was waiting for, but I was really thrilled by the Dean piece. Glad that recording is available now.

ComposerOfAvantGarde

One of the things about Dean as a composer is his commitment to the idea of tradition, the musical canon, the repertoire, and what one can learn from famous composers of the past. He couldn't have been in a better position than as a viola player under Karajan and Abbado during his stint in the Berliner Philharmoniker, around the same tame he started composing.

Holden

I thought this was about living Aussie composers until I saw Anthill

Can I add:

Elena Kats-Chernin
Graeme Koehner
Ross Edwards
Alfred Hill
Percy Grainger
Peggy Glanville-Hicks
Miriam Hyde
Colin Brumby (good name for an Aussie)
Michael Kieran-Harvey
Carl Vine - a legend!
Peter Sculthorpe - also a legend.

Cheers

Holden

vandermolen

#4
I greatly admire the music of the underrated Malcolm Williamson (1931-2003). In particular his first symphony 'Elevamini', his very moving Violin Concerto and his Organ Concerto dedicated to Sir Adrian Boult. As a young prom goer I actually saw this performed with Williamson on the organ and Boult conducting. I also liked his theme music for the original animated film 'Watership Down' although the rest of the score ended up being completed by Angela Morley as Williamson became increasingly unreliable in completing commissions on time, which damaged his reputation, especially after his appointment as Master of the Queen's Musik.
This is a great place to start:
[asin]B000MEYHFS[/asin]
As is this (This includes Groves's fine version of 'Elevamini'. The Sinfonia Concertante which started out as Williamson's Second Symphony has a movingly eloquent slow movement:
[asin]B000XJ26KA[/asin]
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#5
Better known as a conductor but also a very fine composer:
[asin]B0009Y337O[/asin]
Both symphonies and the Oboe Concerto are favourites of mine.
There is also a recording of Symphony 1 on Chandos - Richard Hickox's final recording before his untimely death.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dax

Unmentioned so far is Roy Agnew who, along with Percy Grainger, was a notable composer from the early 20th Century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Agnew

There's quite a bit on YouTube, though unfortunately it seems only one of his major piano sonatas.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Holden on July 17, 2016, 01:24:04 AM
Carl Vine - a legend!
Peter Sculthorpe - also a legend.

These two are my favorite Aussie composers as I'm the one who started threads on both of them. :)

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Quote from: Mirror Image on July 17, 2016, 04:42:40 AM
These two are my favorite Aussie composers as I'm the one who started threads on both of them. :)
Just out of curiosity, have you heard anything by Richard Meale? I imagine that you might like his music just as well....

Mirror Image

Quote from: jessop on July 17, 2016, 04:52:09 AM
Just out of curiosity, have you heard anything by Richard Meale? I imagine that you might like his music just as well....

I've got one Meale recording and the music was 'okay,' but not in the same league as Sculthorpe or Vine.


ComposerOfAvantGarde

Is there anythint about it that makes is just 'okay?' I find a lot of his harmonic writing and the pace of his music very appealing. I actually haven't heard what is on that disc though.

Mirror Image

Quote from: jessop on July 17, 2016, 04:57:15 AM
Is there anythint about it that makes is just 'okay?' I find a lot of his harmonic writing and the pace of his music very appealing. I actually haven't heard what is on that disc though.

I just didn't find the music to be memorable or even that interesting.

GioCar

Quote from: jessop on July 17, 2016, 12:22:48 AM
One of the things about Dean as a composer is his commitment to the idea of tradition, the musical canon, the repertoire, and what one can learn from famous composers of the past. He couldn't have been in a better position than as a viola player under Karajan and Abbado during his stint in the Berliner Philharmoniker, around the same tame he started composing.

I have a recording of "Carlo", a Dean's work inspired by Gesualdo's turbulent life and music and a tribute to that composer.
The way he treats Gesualdo's "Moro, lasso, al mio duolo" from book 6 is just amazing. Somehow Dean follows Berio's legacy.

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Quote from: GioCar on July 20, 2016, 10:43:52 PM
I have a recording of "Carlo", a Dean's work inspired by Gesualdo's turbulent life and music and a tribute to that composer.
The way he treats Gesualdo's "Moro, lasso, al mio duolo" from book 6 is just amazing. Somehow Dean follows Berio's legacy.
Yep, Carlo is the piece that really kicked off Dean's career as a composer. Have you heard Testament (12 viola version or orchestral version) at all?

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Another Australian composer whose music I enjoy is Margaret Sutherland (1897-1984) who composed this really cool Concerto Grosso.

GioCar

#15
Quote from: jessop on July 20, 2016, 11:33:42 PM
Yep, Carlo is the piece that really kicked off Dean's career as a composer. Have you heard Testament (12 viola version or orchestral version) at all?
Nope, but I read it's worked out from Beethoven's first 'Razumovsky' Quartet. Interesting and intriguing. On my wishlist.

ComposerOfAvantGarde

A Saxophone Concerto by one Melbourne based composer Elliott Gyger. His piano concerto is up on YouTube as well and I also think it is especially good.

vandermolen

New release. Think Christo will be interested in this one as well  8)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roy Bland


vandermolen

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).