Peter Sculthorpe

Sculthorpe is one of Australia's most prominent composers and is among the most important composers on the international scene. Although he is a distinguished academic and popular lecturer, Sculthorpe does not fit any ready-made category of composer or teacher. In a body of work that so far includes orchestral and chamber music in many genres and mediums, opera and other theater music, songs and choral music, and music for documentary and commercial films, radio, and television, he has established a personal musical style and public presence that have shaped the history of 20th-century music in Australia and the world. Owing to circumstances of place and time--Australia in the 20th century--he has been defining, or redefining, the role of composer for himself and his audiences. This book is a record of Sculthorpe's work and of its reception by composer colleagues, performers, critics, and audiences.