25 Sep 2011

Douglas - Landscape of a New Zealand Composer - Episode 6

From Douglas: The Landscape of a New Zealand Composer, 2:00 pm on 25 September 2011
Douglas Lilburn's home at 22 Ascot Terrace, Thordon, Wellington. 2002

Douglas Lilburn's home at 22 Ascot Terrace, Thordon, Wellington. 2002 Photo: The Jill Palmer Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library.

This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.

The sixth episode looks at the influence of landscape in Douglas Lilburn's life and music - from the early years in the idyllic setting of Drysdale Station, to the dramatic landscapes of the South Island and the primordial terrain of the central North Island.

John Hopkins describes the clear light and sense of landscape in Douglas's music; John Rimmer talks about elements of spaciousness and the imagery of water; and Philip Norman looks at the different periods in Douglas's compositional output.

Alistair Te Ariki Campbell and Douglas's niece, Joyce Hamilton, describe Douglas's Christchurch bedsit in the 1940s; Gwyneth Brown and Jeannie Lilburn talk about Douglas's home and "Jungle" at Ascot Terrace in Wellington; and Ron Burt describes Douglas's use of imagery to convey meaning to the performer.

Ross Harris demonstrates the Synthi AKS that Douglas used for some of his electronic music, and Douglas himself describes painting with electronic sound.