Born in Launceston in 1929, Peter Sculthorpe was educated at Launceston Church Grammar School, the University of Melbourne and Wadham College, Oxford. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney, where he began teaching in 1963. He has also taught at other music institutions and universities both within and outside Australia, and he holds honorary doctorates from Tasmania, Melbourne, Sussex and Griffith. An Officer of both the Order of Australia and the British Empire, in 1998 he was elected one of Australia’s Living National Treasures. In 2002, he was elected to Foreign Honorary Membership of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Peter Sculthorpe has written works in most musical forms, and his output relates easily to the unique social climate and physical characteristics of Australia. Furthermore, his country’s geographical position has caused him to be influenced by much of the music of Asia, especially that of Japan and Indonesia. In recent years, however, he has been more influenced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island music and culture. His work is discussed in books by Michael Hannan (Peter Sculthorpe: His Music and Ideas 1929 - 1979, University of Queensland Press, 1982), Deborah Hayes (Peter Sculthorpe: A Bio-Bibliography, Greenwood Press, 1993); and by the composer himself (Sun Music: Journeys and reflections from a composer’s life, ABC Books, 1999). Graeme Skinner’s biography, Peter Sculthorpe: The Making of an Australian Composer (UNSW Press), covering the years 1929 to 1974, was published in Sydney in 2007. He is currently working on several major commissions, and will celebrate his 80th birthday next year.
Forthcoming performances:
String Quartet No 17
8.5.10, ISCM World New Music Days, Sydney, Australia: Goldner String Quartet
Earth Cry
9.5.10, Brighton Festival, St Bartholomew's Church, Brighton, United Kingdom: Brighton Youth Orchestra/Steve Heath/Andy Sherwood
Love Thoughts
15.5.10, Canberra International Music Festival, ACCC Chapel Canberra, Australia: Chamber Ensemble/Japenese and English Speakers
Eliza Fraser Sings
15.5.10, Canberra International Music Festival, ACCC Chapel Canberra, Australia: Nicole Thompson/Tamara Anna Cislowska/Christopher Latham
new work: Kyrie ###
15.5.10, Canberra International Music Festival, Australia: Fitters Workshop Chamber Orchestra/David Pereira/Christopher Latham
String Quartet No 18 ###
5.6.10, Montsalvat Barn Gallery, Eltham, VIC, Australia: Flinders Quartet
String Quartet No 18
6.6.10, Iwaki Auditorium, Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Flinders Quartet
String Quartet No 18
7.6.10, Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney, Australia: Flinders Quartet
Kakadu
19.6.10, Settlebeck High School, Sedburgh Festival, United Kingdom:
Earth Cry
9.8.10, EYSM course, United Kingdom: European Youth Summer Music Orchestra
Memento Mori
1.9.10, Edinburgh International Festival, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Vladimir Ashkenazy
String Quartet No 18 ##
2.9.10, Edinburgh International Festival, The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Tokyo Quartet
New Norcia
1.11.10, City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney, Australia: Sydney Sinfonia/Richard Gill