'On Hearing the Shining Cuckoo' borrows musical ideas (and its title) from the famous work by Frederick Delius. It is in six movements and includes the birdsong of the shining cuckoo and grey warbler. The cuckoo migrates to New Zealand every spring and lays its eggs in the nest of the warbler.
The work is filled with hope and wariness, and is a response to current events, both environmental and cultural. A chasm lies between our often sentimental attachment to the natural environment and the reality of how our lives affect it. This is paralleled in the discrepancy between the talk and action in the value our society places on the arts.
'On Hearing the Shining Cuckoo' was commissioned by the St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra.
Biography:
Anthony Young Photo: Supplied
Anthony Young has had works performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Chamber Orchestra, the Karlheinz Company, The Committee, Gate7, Tapestry New Opera Works (Toronto), OperaUpClose (UK), and other performers in the USA, UK and Italy. In 2004 he was the joint Composer-in-Residence with the APO.
Recent commissions include 'Von Tempsky', a symphony for brass band for Howick Brass, 'Sacred Breath – Turbulent Ocean' for the national concert band festival in Whangarei, and 'Dissections of a Theme' for the Jade String Quartet.
Anthony is currently studying towards a doctorate in music at the University of Auckland.
Recorded by RNZ Concert for the 2019 NZ Composer Sessions
Producer/Engineer: Graham Kennedy
