Author Archives: mhindson2000

Thank you, Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014)

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Peter Sculthorpe was my teacher, mentor and friend since I started learning with him in 1987. In addition he is without doubt one of the most original and unique composers that Australia has ever had. The following is the text of a speech given at him memorial service at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 29 October 2014.

Just like so many attendees here tonight, I got to know Peter via being a student at the Music Department at the University of Sydney. As a young high school student I took the leap into the risky unknown – taking a music degree rather than computer science in my case – and when deciding where to go, the achievements of Peter Sculthorpe, combined with the reputation of the University of Sydney, made the choice pretty clear.

I imagine that this progression into the world of music was pretty typical for the majority of my fellow students who studied with Peter.

And I’m sure that for this majority, their time with Peter similarly changed their life, for the better.

As a teacher, Peter was so much more than a ‘do this, do that’, technical sort of person. He wasn’t shy to give advice and suggestions when needed, but much of the time, lessons with Peter were wide-ranging discussions on an immense variety of topics, on everything from music and culture, to Australian and international society, through to the workings of his brother’s gun shop.

What Peter was really doing for us in our interactions was setting up a framework. He was setting out for us what it was like to be a composer, not just thinking about the notes on the page. It was the framework of responsibility that we had as budding and emerging artists to Australian, and artistic, cultures.

It may seem self-evident in retrospect, but Peter was showing us that, just like almost everything in life, when it comes to writing music, having both a brain AND a heart is the most important thing. It is about being honest and true to oneself. It is about demonstrating respect and a desire to understand the work of others, even if it comes from places or approaches that initially seemed strange. It is inherently about recognizing honesty.

Back in the 80s and 90s, we need to remember that this was a somewhat radical response. My own recollections at the time were that continuing the latest musical trends from Europe, for example, were what was important, and anything else was old hat, or not worth consideration.

Peter’s desire was not for us to blindly follow trends or aesthetics, but instead to find what was in ourselves. To find our own unique voice, and to develop our skills to allow this uniqueness to flourish and find our own place in the world.

Don’t just do something because it’s trendy, or the ‘done thing’ – do everything because it’s important to you, because it comes from your heart, find your own way.

What an important lesson this was. It is THE most important lesson of all.

I know I wasn’t alone in receiving such generous and optimistic advice from Peter. How do I know this? Well, it’s all around us.

Australian music now, I believe, in a better place than ever before. Certainly the standard of works by Australian composers is consistently outstanding. Australian performers play increasing amounts of Australian music. OUR music. Audiences, both in Australia and internationally, are responding to Australian music. It is intrinsically linked to an increased sense of self-confidence about our unique place in the world: that, musically at least, we are not an outpost of Old Europe or a little cousin to the USA – unless we want to be.

Peter is intrinsic to this. Not just through the music, but in his influence, his foresight, his generosity and wisdom that has been taken up by so many with whom he came into contact. For example, arts organizations like the Australia Council, ABC Classic FM, the symphony orchestras and Musica Viva Australia all bear marks of his indelible influence, even if he wasn’t immediately associated with them – because of his vast range of students and Peter’s philosophy.

And not just organizations associated with Western classical music. When discussing my interest in electronic dance music with Peter, he was really excited and talked about how he would love to make a techno piece one day. What a surprise! But not really. As Peter said, there is room enough for all of us in Australia, and for a generosity of spirit and approach.

Can we imagine a successful musical Australia without that which Peter Sculthorpe brought to it? No, it’s pretty much inconceivable – it would be just so different.

Peter was indeed a musical giant – not just through his own music, but on the effects he had upon others. It will continue to resonate into the future. On behalf of all your past students, Peter, and all of those Australian composers still to come, I salute you.

Photo of Peter and I, ca. 2008, by Adrienne Sach.

Photo of Peter and I, ca. 2008, by Adrienne Sach.

It is better to be feared than loved – Premiere Performances

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I have completed a new, large work for the Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus and the Sydney Youth Orchestra, which will be premiered in the Sydney Opera House on 8 and 9 October, 2014.  The lyrics come from the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, whose image is placed above this post.

Following are the program notes.  Or go here for information from Faber Music on the instrumentation and choir sizes.

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There is nothing quite like singing in a choir, as so many people in Australia and the world know so well. Even more special is singing in a massed choir of 400+ voices. In performance, each chorister combines to create such a powerful sound to raise the roof of a venue like the Sydney Opera House.

This year I was commissioned by the Sydney Philharmonia Choir to write a new work for massed choir and orchestra. When I say the Sydney Philharmonia Choir, I really mean the members of the Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus. Many of the singers in this group put forward their own hard-earned money to enable the construction of a brand-new piece of music.

Talk about putting one’s money where one’s mouth is! This is really crowd-funding at its best. So when I set out to write this new piece, I was imagining each of these choristers producing sounds, phrases and melodies that, if not for their own foresight and generosity, would not exist.
When writing new choral or vocal music, the starting point for the actual music is usually the text. Good text will dictate its own rhythm, and indeed sometimes the music itself.

Another starting point for me was contemporary events and society. To me there isn’t much point in writing music that isn’t relevant to contemporary musicians and audiences. Especially when lyrics are involved to make the intention very clear.

So after a long search, and given what’s been going on in Australian politics recently, the writings of Niccolo Macchiavelli (1469-1527) were the best choice. It may seem strange to use texts from 500 years ago, given what I say above. But how can one go past such choice quotes as:

“It is better to be feared than loved[, if one cannot be both]”;
“Politics have no relation to morals”, or even:
“The promise given was a necessity of the past, the broken promise is a necessity of the present.”

Did Machiavelli has a crystal ball to see into contemporary Australian politics when writing the above gems? Or is it rather something more fundamental to the human condition?

In the end then, It is better to be feared than loved (the title of my new work) deals with contemporary politics of governments, politicians and the pursuit of power. As such, it is often musically bombastic and overblown – which was tremendous fun to write.

And, I hope, to sing.

Premiere of “Resonance” at Synaesthesia+, MONA (Tasmania)

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Imagine writing a piece for orchestra where the players are in different rooms, can’t hear one another, where there is no conductor for everyone and where you can’t predict where the audience will be at any one time. That was the starting point for “Resonance”, a new 18 minute piece written for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra to open the Synaesthesia+ Festival in August, 2014.

Here is an article from the Sydney Morning Herald on the new piece, and the festival.

And here are some images from the performance, which went extremely well indeed. Images courtesy of MONA/Remi Chauvin.

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ResonancePerf3

Japan Premiere of “Faster” by National Ballet of Japan

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This April, the National Ballet of Japan presented the Japanese premiere of my ballet, Faster, choreographed by David Bintley, with the music performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic, conducted by Paul Murphy.

The ballet explores the topic of sport: from the heroics and achievements of competition, to the agony of injury, to the limits of human endurance.

I have often said that when the curtain rises on a new ballet work, I understand the complete honour to be a composer.  This was certainly the case with Faster.  David Bintley is an incredible choreographer.  What he manages to achieve with a complement of human bodies is simply astounding.  Add the superb lighting by Peter Mumford and costumes by Becs Andrews – it was a stunning experience.

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With choreographer David Bintley, conductor Paul Murphy and some of the cast of Faster after the final performance.

And not least of all, the magnificent Tokyo Philharmonic, with conductor Paul Murphy who managed to be one of the most energetic of all: a definite highlight of my career.

Premiere performance of Symphony No. 3: The Returned Soldier

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This March marked the premiere performance of my Symphony No. 3: The Returned Soldier, by the Phoenix Symphony, under the baton of the incredible conductor Michael Christie.

This 25 minute piece deals with the subject of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) experienced by veterans returning from combat, such as Iraq and Afghanistan in recent times.

My starting points in this piece were images and scenarios faced by these veterans in war, and their effects on families and loved ones.

It was a real honour to have several war veterans come to me and express how moving they found the piece, and how true to life it seemed as compared to their experiences.  My contribution pales into insignificance compared to the sacrifices they have made.