CSM 23: Chamber Music Made And Played In Australia 1945-1952
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Item Open Access Margaret Sutherland: Quartet In G Minor (1936) - IV(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1936) Composer: Margaret Sutherland; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyMargaret Sutherland is represented by two compositions, both of them recorded in Sydney in 1946. The Quartet in G minor( House Quartet) for clarinet [or violin], horn [or viola], cello and piano was completed in 1936; the Fantasy Sonata for saxophone was performed, probably for the first time, at a CEMA (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts) concert in 1946. These recordings have the added value of the composer playing the piano part and taking a leading role in the crafting of the performance. Sutherland spent much of her professional life playing chamber music, so it comes as no su rprise that the genre provided her with a vehicle for her own distinctive musical voice. Margaret Sutherland was born in Adelaide in 1897, moving to Melbourne in 1901. Amongst the celebrities in her family were her Aunt Jane who was a member of the Heidelberg School of painters, and Alexander Sutherland who is credited with having built, described (in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria) and utilised a tinfoil phonograph, making what were, in effect, Australia's first sound recordings. In 1904, Sutherland studied music with Mona McBurney who, in 1896, had gained a B.Mus from the Melbourne University, the first Australian university to admit women (1880). Her next teacher (from 1913) was Edward Goll, a Czech pianist of considerable local reputation. For a short time she also studied with Fritz Hart and Marshall Hall, whose untimely death from peritonitis truncated what Sutherland felt would have been a period of crucial work. She valued Marshall Hall's energy and enthusiasm. Recognising her gift as a pianist, Henri Verbrugghen, the first Director of the NSW Conservatorium and a close friend of Goll, invited Sutherland to Sydney to perform. In 1923, Sutherland replaced Goll for twelve months while he visited Europe. In 1924 and 1925 she was able to follow him, probably studying briefly with Professor Dorothy Howell at the Royal Academy in London. She spent a short time with John Ireland and, in the most productive and influential association to that time, with Sir Arnold Bax. It was under his influence that she completed her Violin Sonata (1925), a composition she first performed at the Society of Women Composers concert in London with the Australian violinist and one-time prodigy Leila Doubleday. Returning to Australia in 1926, she was profoundly affected by a sense of isolation, reporting later that 'the barrenness, the absolute vacuum at home, hit me and hurt me', but it did not stop her composing. Neither did marriage to an unsympathetic psychiatrist and the new responsibilities that came with children interfere, although there was a period immediately after 1926 when she composed very little. The publication of her Violin Sonata perhaps figured prominently and centrally in her own selfevaluation. The expatriate, Louise Hanson-Dyer's L'Oiseau Lyre publishing house, operating out of France, accepted the work, triggering a renewed energyforcomposition. A moreorless continuous stream of works appeared until the composer's infirmity precluded work, the last things coming out in 1967. The 'House Quartet', the Quartet in G Minor, is an early work (1936), its title evocative of Percy Grainger's quirky jingoism. It has flexible instrumentation and is cast in four contrasting movements. It forms part of the discovery of a personal musical language which is amongst the most distinctive of any Australian composer. The Fantasy Sonata is a somewhat enigmatic work, unlisted in the standard references to Sutherland's music. It was recorded by the composer with Melbourne clarinettist and saxophonist Thomas (Tom) White, who also played the oboe at CEMA concerts. Two copies of the score are held in the National Library of Australia's manuscript section in a collection documenting the activities of the Australian Musical Association, which operated out of Australia House in London in the 1950s. It is likely that the work was given a first London performance at that time.Item Open Access Margaret Sutherland: Fantasy Sonata for Saxophone and Piano (1944?)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1944) Composer: Margaret Sutherland; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyMargaret Sutherland is represented by two compositions, both of them recorded in Sydney in 1946. The Quartet in G minor( House Quartet) for clarinet [or violin], horn [or viola], cello and piano was completed in 1936; the Fantasy Sonata for saxophone was performed, probably for the first time, at a CEMA (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts) concert in 1946. These recordings have the added value of the composer playing the piano part and taking a leading role in the crafting of the performance. Sutherland spent much of her professional life playing chamber music, so it comes as no su rprise that the genre provided her with a vehicle for her own distinctive musical voice. Margaret Sutherland was born in Adelaide in 1897, moving to Melbourne in 1901. Amongst the celebrities in her family were her Aunt Jane who was a member of the Heidelberg School of painters, and Alexander Sutherland who is credited with having built, described (in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria) and utilised a tinfoil phonograph, making what were, in effect, Australia's first sound recordings. In 1904, Sutherland studied music with Mona McBurney who, in 1896, had gained a B.Mus from the Melbourne University, the first Australian university to admit women (1880). Her next teacher (from 1913) was Edward Goll, a Czech pianist of considerable local reputation. For a short time she also studied with Fritz Hart and Marshall Hall, whose untimely death from peritonitis truncated what Sutherland felt would have been a period of crucial work. She valued Marshall Hall's energy and enthusiasm. Recognising her gift as a pianist, Henri Verbrugghen, the first Director of the NSW Conservatorium and a close friend of Goll, invited Sutherland to Sydney to perform. In 1923, Sutherland replaced Goll for twelve months while he visited Europe. In 1924 and 1925 she was able to follow him, probably studying briefly with Professor Dorothy Howell at the Royal Academy in London. She spent a short time with John Ireland and, in the most productive and influential association to that time, with Sir Arnold Bax. It was under his influence that she completed her Violin Sonata (1925), a composition she first performed at the Society of Women Composers concert in London with the Australian violinist and one-time prodigy Leila Doubleday. Returning to Australia in 1926, she was profoundly affected by a sense of isolation, reporting later that 'the barrenness, the absolute vacuum at home, hit me and hurt me', but it did not stop her composing. Neither did marriage to an unsympathetic psychiatrist and the new responsibilities that came with children interfere, although there was a period immediately after 1926 when she composed very little. The publication of her Violin Sonata perhaps figured prominently and centrally in her own selfevaluation. The expatriate, Louise Hanson-Dyer's L'Oiseau Lyre publishing house, operating out of France, accepted the work, triggering a renewed energyforcomposition. A moreorless continuous stream of works appeared until the composer's infirmity precluded work, the last things coming out in 1967. The 'House Quartet', the Quartet in G Minor, is an early work (1936), its title evocative of Percy Grainger's quirky jingoism. It has flexible instrumentation and is cast in four contrasting movements. It forms part of the discovery of a personal musical language which is amongst the most distinctive of any Australian composer. The Fantasy Sonata is a somewhat enigmatic work, unlisted in the standard references to Sutherland's music. It was recorded by the composer with Melbourne clarinettist and saxophonist Thomas (Tom) White, who also played the oboe at CEMA concerts. Two copies of the score are held in the National Library of Australia's manuscript section in a collection documenting the activities of the Australian Musical Association, which operated out of Australia House in London in the 1950s. It is likely that the work was given a first London performance at that time.Item Open Access Edgar Bainton: Cello Sonata (1922) - III(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1922) Composer: Edgar Bainton; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyEdgar Bainton, English by birth, became the Director of the NSW Conservatorium in 1934 following Dr Arundel Orchard. He brought with him an uncompromisingly English legacy, as it happened, in the year in which three of the masters of that tradition, Elgar, Delius and Holst, died. He also brought a sonata for cello and piano which he had written in England in 1922. Bainton's background was very much the ethos eschewed by Margaret Sutherland. He, however, was not uncomfortable with the tradition in which he worked, producing compositions of considerable charm in a style whose roots he acknowledged and celebrated. Amongst his most important accomplishments as the Director of the NSW Conservatorium was the support he gave to Australian composers. Many works by Roy Agnew, Miriam Hyde and Percy Grainger, for example, were played at Conservatorium concerts during his time there. He must also take the credit for many Australian first performances, perhaps not unexpectedly, of composers like Delius, Vaughan Williams and Sibelius. The cello part in this 1952 recording is played by John Kennedy, one of Australia's finest cellists, and Bainton himself is the associate artist. Bainton died quietly on Lady Martin's Beach, Sydney, on 8 December, 1956. Technical Notes The recordings on this compact disc were transferred from shellac 78s, recorded in Sydney and pressed in Australia for the Columbia label. The transfers were made on EMT turntables using a variety of different shaped styli to achieve the best possible sound from discs that had, over the years, sustained groove damage and other surface wear. The ideal stylus is one that contacts the least worn section of the groove wall, giving the best all round signal to noise ratio and fidelity. Surface noise is often a problem with shellac discs. They frequently exhibit a constant hiss. Ripples, slight warps and off centre pressing cause swishes and variations in the hiss level which become more noticeable as successive layers of distracting clicks and crackles are removed. Variation in surface noise between sides that have been edited togethermay be noticed by some astute listeners. Rather than take a minimalist approach to remastering, a moderate amount of digital processing has been used in an attempt to make a more enjoyable reissue that retains all the character of the original recordings. Clicks and crackles have been removed and the hiss reduced so that subtleties of performance probably not discernible to the listener who relies upon original discs and period play-back equipment are now apparent. Occasional creaks and other noises remain where it was the judgement of technical staff that these were extra-musical sounds from the original sessions, or where their removal might have resulted in the loss of aspects of the original performance. There is no mistaking that these are vintage recordings, requiring a degree of tolerance of the remaining surface noise. The vaj,ue and interest of the performances have riot been diminished by any of these processes, and it is likely that a listener to the transfers will hear more from this CD than any listeners in the 1940s and 1950s for whom the recordings were originally made.Item Open Access Edgar Bainton: Cello Sonata (1922) - IV(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1922) Composer: Edgar Bainton; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyEdgar Bainton, English by birth, became the Director of the NSW Conservatorium in 1934 following Dr Arundel Orchard. He brought with him an uncompromisingly English legacy, as it happened, in the year in which three of the masters of that tradition, Elgar, Delius and Holst, died. He also brought a sonata for cello and piano which he had written in England in 1922. Bainton's background was very much the ethos eschewed by Margaret Sutherland. He, however, was not uncomfortable with the tradition in which he worked, producing compositions of considerable charm in a style whose roots he acknowledged and celebrated. Amongst his most important accomplishments as the Director of the NSW Conservatorium was the support he gave to Australian composers. Many works by Roy Agnew, Miriam Hyde and Percy Grainger, for example, were played at Conservatorium concerts during his time there. He must also take the credit for many Australian first performances, perhaps not unexpectedly, of composers like Delius, Vaughan Williams and Sibelius. The cello part in this 1952 recording is played by John Kennedy, one of Australia's finest cellists, and Bainton himself is the associate artist. Bainton died quietly on Lady Martin's Beach, Sydney, on 8 December, 1956. Technical Notes The recordings on this compact disc were transferred from shellac 78s, recorded in Sydney and pressed in Australia for the Columbia label. The transfers were made on EMT turntables using a variety of different shaped styli to achieve the best possible sound from discs that had, over the years, sustained groove damage and other surface wear. The ideal stylus is one that contacts the least worn section of the groove wall, giving the best all round signal to noise ratio and fidelity. Surface noise is often a problem with shellac discs. They frequently exhibit a constant hiss. Ripples, slight warps and off centre pressing cause swishes and variations in the hiss level which become more noticeable as successive layers of distracting clicks and crackles are removed. Variation in surface noise between sides that have been edited togethermay be noticed by some astute listeners. Rather than take a minimalist approach to remastering, a moderate amount of digital processing has been used in an attempt to make a more enjoyable reissue that retains all the character of the original recordings. Clicks and crackles have been removed and the hiss reduced so that subtleties of performance probably not discernible to the listener who relies upon original discs and period play-back equipment are now apparent. Occasional creaks and other noises remain where it was the judgement of technical staff that these were extra-musical sounds from the original sessions, or where their removal might have resulted in the loss of aspects of the original performance. There is no mistaking that these are vintage recordings, requiring a degree of tolerance of the remaining surface noise. The vaj,ue and interest of the performances have riot been diminished by any of these processes, and it is likely that a listener to the transfers will hear more from this CD than any listeners in the 1940s and 1950s for whom the recordings were originally made.Item Open Access Edgar Bainton: Cello Sonata (1922) - II(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1922) Composer: Edgar Bainton; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyEdgar Bainton, English by birth, became the Director of the NSW Conservatorium in 1934 following Dr Arundel Orchard. He brought with him an uncompromisingly English legacy, as it happened, in the year in which three of the masters of that tradition, Elgar, Delius and Holst, died. He also brought a sonata for cello and piano which he had written in England in 1922. Bainton's background was very much the ethos eschewed by Margaret Sutherland. He, however, was not uncomfortable with the tradition in which he worked, producing compositions of considerable charm in a style whose roots he acknowledged and celebrated. Amongst his most important accomplishments as the Director of the NSW Conservatorium was the support he gave to Australian composers. Many works by Roy Agnew, Miriam Hyde and Percy Grainger, for example, were played at Conservatorium concerts during his time there. He must also take the credit for many Australian first performances, perhaps not unexpectedly, of composers like Delius, Vaughan Williams and Sibelius. The cello part in this 1952 recording is played by John Kennedy, one of Australia's finest cellists, and Bainton himself is the associate artist. Bainton died quietly on Lady Martin's Beach, Sydney, on 8 December, 1956. Technical Notes The recordings on this compact disc were transferred from shellac 78s, recorded in Sydney and pressed in Australia for the Columbia label. The transfers were made on EMT turntables using a variety of different shaped styli to achieve the best possible sound from discs that had, over the years, sustained groove damage and other surface wear. The ideal stylus is one that contacts the least worn section of the groove wall, giving the best all round signal to noise ratio and fidelity. Surface noise is often a problem with shellac discs. They frequently exhibit a constant hiss. Ripples, slight warps and off centre pressing cause swishes and variations in the hiss level which become more noticeable as successive layers of distracting clicks and crackles are removed. Variation in surface noise between sides that have been edited togethermay be noticed by some astute listeners. Rather than take a minimalist approach to remastering, a moderate amount of digital processing has been used in an attempt to make a more enjoyable reissue that retains all the character of the original recordings. Clicks and crackles have been removed and the hiss reduced so that subtleties of performance probably not discernible to the listener who relies upon original discs and period play-back equipment are now apparent. Occasional creaks and other noises remain where it was the judgement of technical staff that these were extra-musical sounds from the original sessions, or where their removal might have resulted in the loss of aspects of the original performance. There is no mistaking that these are vintage recordings, requiring a degree of tolerance of the remaining surface noise. The vaj,ue and interest of the performances have riot been diminished by any of these processes, and it is likely that a listener to the transfers will hear more from this CD than any listeners in the 1940s and 1950s for whom the recordings were originally made.Item Open Access Edgar Bainton: Cello Sonata (1922) - I(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1922) Composer: Edgar Bainton; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyEdgar Bainton, English by birth, became the Director of the NSW Conservatorium in 1934 following Dr Arundel Orchard. He brought with him an uncompromisingly English legacy, as it happened, in the year in which three of the masters of that tradition, Elgar, Delius and Holst, died. He also brought a sonata for cello and piano which he had written in England in 1922. Bainton's background was very much the ethos eschewed by Margaret Sutherland. He, however, was not uncomfortable with the tradition in which he worked, producing compositions of considerable charm in a style whose roots he acknowledged and celebrated. Amongst his most important accomplishments as the Director of the NSW Conservatorium was the support he gave to Australian composers. Many works by Roy Agnew, Miriam Hyde and Percy Grainger, for example, were played at Conservatorium concerts during his time there. He must also take the credit for many Australian first performances, perhaps not unexpectedly, of composers like Delius, Vaughan Williams and Sibelius. The cello part in this 1952 recording is played by John Kennedy, one of Australia's finest cellists, and Bainton himself is the associate artist. Bainton died quietly on Lady Martin's Beach, Sydney, on 8 December, 1956. Technical Notes The recordings on this compact disc were transferred from shellac 78s, recorded in Sydney and pressed in Australia for the Columbia label. The transfers were made on EMT turntables using a variety of different shaped styli to achieve the best possible sound from discs that had, over the years, sustained groove damage and other surface wear. The ideal stylus is one that contacts the least worn section of the groove wall, giving the best all round signal to noise ratio and fidelity. Surface noise is often a problem with shellac discs. They frequently exhibit a constant hiss. Ripples, slight warps and off centre pressing cause swishes and variations in the hiss level which become more noticeable as successive layers of distracting clicks and crackles are removed. Variation in surface noise between sides that have been edited togethermay be noticed by some astute listeners. Rather than take a minimalist approach to remastering, a moderate amount of digital processing has been used in an attempt to make a more enjoyable reissue that retains all the character of the original recordings. Clicks and crackles have been removed and the hiss reduced so that subtleties of performance probably not discernible to the listener who relies upon original discs and period play-back equipment are now apparent. Occasional creaks and other noises remain where it was the judgement of technical staff that these were extra-musical sounds from the original sessions, or where their removal might have resulted in the loss of aspects of the original performance. There is no mistaking that these are vintage recordings, requiring a degree of tolerance of the remaining surface noise. The vaj,ue and interest of the performances have riot been diminished by any of these processes, and it is likely that a listener to the transfers will hear more from this CD than any listeners in the 1940s and 1950s for whom the recordings were originally made.Item Open Access Margaret Sutherland: Quartet In G Minor (1936) - III(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1936) Composer: Margaret Sutherland; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyMargaret Sutherland is represented by two compositions, both of them recorded in Sydney in 1946. The Quartet in G minor( House Quartet) for clarinet [or violin], horn [or viola], cello and piano was completed in 1936; the Fantasy Sonata for saxophone was performed, probably for the first time, at a CEMA (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts) concert in 1946. These recordings have the added value of the composer playing the piano part and taking a leading role in the crafting of the performance. Sutherland spent much of her professional life playing chamber music, so it comes as no su rprise that the genre provided her with a vehicle for her own distinctive musical voice. Margaret Sutherland was born in Adelaide in 1897, moving to Melbourne in 1901. Amongst the celebrities in her family were her Aunt Jane who was a member of the Heidelberg School of painters, and Alexander Sutherland who is credited with having built, described (in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria) and utilised a tinfoil phonograph, making what were, in effect, Australia's first sound recordings. In 1904, Sutherland studied music with Mona McBurney who, in 1896, had gained a B.Mus from the Melbourne University, the first Australian university to admit women (1880). Her next teacher (from 1913) was Edward Goll, a Czech pianist of considerable local reputation. For a short time she also studied with Fritz Hart and Marshall Hall, whose untimely death from peritonitis truncated what Sutherland felt would have been a period of crucial work. She valued Marshall Hall's energy and enthusiasm. Recognising her gift as a pianist, Henri Verbrugghen, the first Director of the NSW Conservatorium and a close friend of Goll, invited Sutherland to Sydney to perform. In 1923, Sutherland replaced Goll for twelve months while he visited Europe. In 1924 and 1925 she was able to follow him, probably studying briefly with Professor Dorothy Howell at the Royal Academy in London. She spent a short time with John Ireland and, in the most productive and influential association to that time, with Sir Arnold Bax. It was under his influence that she completed her Violin Sonata (1925), a composition she first performed at the Society of Women Composers concert in London with the Australian violinist and one-time prodigy Leila Doubleday. Returning to Australia in 1926, she was profoundly affected by a sense of isolation, reporting later that 'the barrenness, the absolute vacuum at home, hit me and hurt me', but it did not stop her composing. Neither did marriage to an unsympathetic psychiatrist and the new responsibilities that came with children interfere, although there was a period immediately after 1926 when she composed very little. The publication of her Violin Sonata perhaps figured prominently and centrally in her own selfevaluation. The expatriate, Louise Hanson-Dyer's L'Oiseau Lyre publishing house, operating out of France, accepted the work, triggering a renewed energyforcomposition. A moreorless continuous stream of works appeared until the composer's infirmity precluded work, the last things coming out in 1967. The 'House Quartet', the Quartet in G Minor, is an early work (1936), its title evocative of Percy Grainger's quirky jingoism. It has flexible instrumentation and is cast in four contrasting movements. It forms part of the discovery of a personal musical language which is amongst the most distinctive of any Australian composer. The Fantasy Sonata is a somewhat enigmatic work, unlisted in the standard references to Sutherland's music. It was recorded by the composer with Melbourne clarinettist and saxophonist Thomas (Tom) White, who also played the oboe at CEMA concerts. Two copies of the score are held in the National Library of Australia's manuscript section in a collection documenting the activities of the Australian Musical Association, which operated out of Australia House in London in the 1950s. It is likely that the work was given a first London performance at that time.Item Open Access Margaret Sutherland: Quartet In G Minor (1936) - II(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1936) Composer: Margaret Sutherland; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyMargaret Sutherland is represented by two compositions, both of them recorded in Sydney in 1946. The Quartet in G minor( House Quartet) for clarinet [or violin], horn [or viola], cello and piano was completed in 1936; the Fantasy Sonata for saxophone was performed, probably for the first time, at a CEMA (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts) concert in 1946. These recordings have the added value of the composer playing the piano part and taking a leading role in the crafting of the performance. Sutherland spent much of her professional life playing chamber music, so it comes as no su rprise that the genre provided her with a vehicle for her own distinctive musical voice. Margaret Sutherland was born in Adelaide in 1897, moving to Melbourne in 1901. Amongst the celebrities in her family were her Aunt Jane who was a member of the Heidelberg School of painters, and Alexander Sutherland who is credited with having built, described (in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria) and utilised a tinfoil phonograph, making what were, in effect, Australia's first sound recordings. In 1904, Sutherland studied music with Mona McBurney who, in 1896, had gained a B.Mus from the Melbourne University, the first Australian university to admit women (1880). Her next teacher (from 1913) was Edward Goll, a Czech pianist of considerable local reputation. For a short time she also studied with Fritz Hart and Marshall Hall, whose untimely death from peritonitis truncated what Sutherland felt would have been a period of crucial work. She valued Marshall Hall's energy and enthusiasm. Recognising her gift as a pianist, Henri Verbrugghen, the first Director of the NSW Conservatorium and a close friend of Goll, invited Sutherland to Sydney to perform. In 1923, Sutherland replaced Goll for twelve months while he visited Europe. In 1924 and 1925 she was able to follow him, probably studying briefly with Professor Dorothy Howell at the Royal Academy in London. She spent a short time with John Ireland and, in the most productive and influential association to that time, with Sir Arnold Bax. It was under his influence that she completed her Violin Sonata (1925), a composition she first performed at the Society of Women Composers concert in London with the Australian violinist and one-time prodigy Leila Doubleday. Returning to Australia in 1926, she was profoundly affected by a sense of isolation, reporting later that 'the barrenness, the absolute vacuum at home, hit me and hurt me', but it did not stop her composing. Neither did marriage to an unsympathetic psychiatrist and the new responsibilities that came with children interfere, although there was a period immediately after 1926 when she composed very little. The publication of her Violin Sonata perhaps figured prominently and centrally in her own selfevaluation. The expatriate, Louise Hanson-Dyer's L'Oiseau Lyre publishing house, operating out of France, accepted the work, triggering a renewed energyforcomposition. A moreorless continuous stream of works appeared until the composer's infirmity precluded work, the last things coming out in 1967. The 'House Quartet', the Quartet in G Minor, is an early work (1936), its title evocative of Percy Grainger's quirky jingoism. It has flexible instrumentation and is cast in four contrasting movements. It forms part of the discovery of a personal musical language which is amongst the most distinctive of any Australian composer. The Fantasy Sonata is a somewhat enigmatic work, unlisted in the standard references to Sutherland's music. It was recorded by the composer with Melbourne clarinettist and saxophonist Thomas (Tom) White, who also played the oboe at CEMA concerts. Two copies of the score are held in the National Library of Australia's manuscript section in a collection documenting the activities of the Australian Musical Association, which operated out of Australia House in London in the 1950s. It is likely that the work was given a first London performance at that time.Item Open Access Alfred Hill : String Quartet No 2 'Maori' (1907) - III Scherzo. The Karakia (Incantation) & The Coming Of The Birds(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1907) Composer: Alfred Hill; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyAlfred Hill was born in 1870 and died in 1960, living through the establishment of much of the contemporary musical infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand. He must have watched the first half of the twentieth century unfurl varieties of musical possibilities which, even if he understood them, were anathema to his own style which was already at least a quarter of a century old as the century changed. Hill was a prolific composer, writing in most musical forms, and finding a generally sympathetic audience in Australasia. He embraced larger forms, symphony and opera, as well as songs and a variety of chamber music. Of the seventeen string quartets he wrote, the eleventh (D minor, 1935) was his favourite. Audiences have demonstrated a preference for the second (G minor, 1907), a piece written whilst on holiday at Hampden in New Zealand's South Island. When published by Breitkopf and Hortel in 1913, number two carried the title 'Maori'. For Roger Covell (Australia's Music, 1967), the second quartet is 'none the worse for the fact that its tender, docile tunefulness makes us think less of the heroic legend attached to its 'Maori' subtitle than of Dvorak at his most pastorally engaging'. Covell compares Hill to the Australian poets Hugh McCrae and Henry Kendall, finding similarities in their clinging to the 'cool, wet greenness of the Australian coastal valleys [rather than] grappling with the immense, raw vistas of the inland'. The Queensland State String Quartet is led in this performance by Ernest Llewellyn, who later became the founding Director of the Canberra School of Music.Item Open Access Alfred Hill : String Quartet No 2 'Maori' (1907) - IV Finale: The Dedication And Launching Of The Canoe(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1907) Composer: Alfred Hill; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyAlfred Hill was born in 1870 and died in 1960, living through the establishment of much of the contemporary musical infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand. He must have watched the first half of the twentieth century unfurl varieties of musical possibilities which, even if he understood them, were anathema to his own style which was already at least a quarter of a century old as the century changed. Hill was a prolific composer, writing in most musical forms, and finding a generally sympathetic audience in Australasia. He embraced larger forms, symphony and opera, as well as songs and a variety of chamber music. Of the seventeen string quartets he wrote, the eleventh (D minor, 1935) was his favourite. Audiences have demonstrated a preference for the second (G minor, 1907), a piece written whilst on holiday at Hampden in New Zealand's South Island. When published by Breitkopf and Hortel in 1913, number two carried the title 'Maori'. For Roger Covell (Australia's Music, 1967), the second quartet is 'none the worse for the fact that its tender, docile tunefulness makes us think less of the heroic legend attached to its 'Maori' subtitle than of Dvorak at his most pastorally engaging'. Covell compares Hill to the Australian poets Hugh McCrae and Henry Kendall, finding similarities in their clinging to the 'cool, wet greenness of the Australian coastal valleys [rather than] grappling with the immense, raw vistas of the inland'. The Queensland State String Quartet is led in this performance by Ernest Llewellyn, who later became the founding Director of the Canberra School of Music.Item Open Access Alfred Hill : String Quartet No 2 'Maori' (1907) - II The Dream(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1907) Composer: Alfred Hill; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyAlfred Hill was born in 1870 and died in 1960, living through the establishment of much of the contemporary musical infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand. He must have watched the first half of the twentieth century unfurl varieties of musical possibilities which, even if he understood them, were anathema to his own style which was already at least a quarter of a century old as the century changed. Hill was a prolific composer, writing in most musical forms, and finding a generally sympathetic audience in Australasia. He embraced larger forms, symphony and opera, as well as songs and a variety of chamber music. Of the seventeen string quartets he wrote, the eleventh (D minor, 1935) was his favourite. Audiences have demonstrated a preference for the second (G minor, 1907), a piece written whilst on holiday at Hampden in New Zealand's South Island. When published by Breitkopf and Hortel in 1913, number two carried the title 'Maori'. For Roger Covell (Australia's Music, 1967), the second quartet is 'none the worse for the fact that its tender, docile tunefulness makes us think less of the heroic legend attached to its 'Maori' subtitle than of Dvorak at his most pastorally engaging'. Covell compares Hill to the Australian poets Hugh McCrae and Henry Kendall, finding similarities in their clinging to the 'cool, wet greenness of the Australian coastal valleys [rather than] grappling with the immense, raw vistas of the inland'. The Queensland State String Quartet is led in this performance by Ernest Llewellyn, who later became the founding Director of the Canberra School of Music.Item Open Access Alfred Hill : String Quartet No 2 'Maori' (1907) - I The Forest(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1907) Composer: Alfred Hill; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyAlfred Hill was born in 1870 and died in 1960, living through the establishment of much of the contemporary musical infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand. He must have watched the first half of the twentieth century unfurl varieties of musical possibilities which, even if he understood them, were anathema to his own style which was already at least a quarter of a century old as the century changed. Hill was a prolific composer, writing in most musical forms, and finding a generally sympathetic audience in Australasia. He embraced larger forms, symphony and opera, as well as songs and a variety of chamber music. Of the seventeen string quartets he wrote, the eleventh (D minor, 1935) was his favourite. Audiences have demonstrated a preference for the second (G minor, 1907), a piece written whilst on holiday at Hampden in New Zealand's South Island. When published by Breitkopf and Hortel in 1913, number two carried the title 'Maori'. For Roger Covell (Australia's Music, 1967), the second quartet is 'none the worse for the fact that its tender, docile tunefulness makes us think less of the heroic legend attached to its 'Maori' subtitle than of Dvorak at his most pastorally engaging'. Covell compares Hill to the Australian poets Hugh McCrae and Henry Kendall, finding similarities in their clinging to the 'cool, wet greenness of the Australian coastal valleys [rather than] grappling with the immense, raw vistas of the inland'. The Queensland State String Quartet is led in this performance by Ernest Llewellyn, who later became the founding Director of the Canberra School of Music.Item Open Access Margaret Sutherland: Quartet In G Minor (1936) - I(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1936) Composer: Margaret Sutherland; Frost, Elizabeth CourtneyMargaret Sutherland is represented by two compositions, both of them recorded in Sydney in 1946. The Quartet in G minor( House Quartet) for clarinet [or violin], horn [or viola], cello and piano was completed in 1936; the Fantasy Sonata for saxophone was performed, probably for the first time, at a CEMA (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts) concert in 1946. These recordings have the added value of the composer playing the piano part and taking a leading role in the crafting of the performance. Sutherland spent much of her professional life playing chamber music, so it comes as no su rprise that the genre provided her with a vehicle for her own distinctive musical voice. Margaret Sutherland was born in Adelaide in 1897, moving to Melbourne in 1901. Amongst the celebrities in her family were her Aunt Jane who was a member of the Heidelberg School of painters, and Alexander Sutherland who is credited with having built, described (in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria) and utilised a tinfoil phonograph, making what were, in effect, Australia's first sound recordings. In 1904, Sutherland studied music with Mona McBurney who, in 1896, had gained a B.Mus from the Melbourne University, the first Australian university to admit women (1880). Her next teacher (from 1913) was Edward Goll, a Czech pianist of considerable local reputation. For a short time she also studied with Fritz Hart and Marshall Hall, whose untimely death from peritonitis truncated what Sutherland felt would have been a period of crucial work. She valued Marshall Hall's energy and enthusiasm. Recognising her gift as a pianist, Henri Verbrugghen, the first Director of the NSW Conservatorium and a close friend of Goll, invited Sutherland to Sydney to perform. In 1923, Sutherland replaced Goll for twelve months while he visited Europe. In 1924 and 1925 she was able to follow him, probably studying briefly with Professor Dorothy Howell at the Royal Academy in London. She spent a short time with John Ireland and, in the most productive and influential association to that time, with Sir Arnold Bax. It was under his influence that she completed her Violin Sonata (1925), a composition she first performed at the Society of Women Composers concert in London with the Australian violinist and one-time prodigy Leila Doubleday. Returning to Australia in 1926, she was profoundly affected by a sense of isolation, reporting later that 'the barrenness, the absolute vacuum at home, hit me and hurt me', but it did not stop her composing. Neither did marriage to an unsympathetic psychiatrist and the new responsibilities that came with children interfere, although there was a period immediately after 1926 when she composed very little. The publication of her Violin Sonata perhaps figured prominently and centrally in her own selfevaluation. The expatriate, Louise Hanson-Dyer's L'Oiseau Lyre publishing house, operating out of France, accepted the work, triggering a renewed energyforcomposition. A moreorless continuous stream of works appeared until the composer's infirmity precluded work, the last things coming out in 1967. The 'House Quartet', the Quartet in G Minor, is an early work (1936), its title evocative of Percy Grainger's quirky jingoism. It has flexible instrumentation and is cast in four contrasting movements. It forms part of the discovery of a personal musical language which is amongst the most distinctive of any Australian composer. The Fantasy Sonata is a somewhat enigmatic work, unlisted in the standard references to Sutherland's music. It was recorded by the composer with Melbourne clarinettist and saxophonist Thomas (Tom) White, who also played the oboe at CEMA concerts. Two copies of the score are held in the National Library of Australia's manuscript section in a collection documenting the activities of the Australian Musical Association, which operated out of Australia House in London in the 1950s. It is likely that the work was given a first London performance at that time.Item Open Access Anthology of Austraian Music on Disc: CSM: 23 Remastered Heritage Recordings Chamber Music Made and Played in Australia 1945-1952(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University) Crisp, Deborah