Guide to the Papers of Peter Sculthorpe

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9676

Creator:

Sculthorpe, Peter

Extent:

45.20 metres and (167 ms boxes + 3 large folio boxes + 33 medium folio boxes + 11 small folio boxes + 3 map folios + 169 sound/av carriers + 108 digital carriers)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Peter Sculthorpe, National Library of Australia, MS 9676, [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part requires permission for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

MS 9676 is an extensive collection that documents fully Peter Sculthorpe's career as one of Australia's most distinguished composer. Commencing with early newspaper cuttings and other items about himself, Sculthorpe has amassed a large archive of papers relating to all aspects of his career. The papers comprise correspondence, music scores, subject files, writings by and about Sculthorpe, programs, reviews, financial records, general administrative papers and photographs.

The correspondence and music scores are particular strengths of the collection. Apart from general correspondence, there is correspondence with family, including early letters written by Sculthorpe to his mother, with other composers, writers and artists and with Faber Music. As well as reflecting the mutual encouragement and discussion that takes place between Sculthorpe and other artists, the correspondence provides an insight into the role of music publishing in the composition process. Correspondents include Don Banks, Barbara Blackman, Ann Boyd, Benjamin Britten, Frank Callaway, Stuart Challender, Manning Clark, Roger Covell, Russell Drysdale, Ross Edwards, Robert Helpmann, Bernard Heinze, Wilfrid Mellers, Randolph Stow, Margaret Sutherland, Peggy van Praagh, Patrick White, Michael Wilding, John Williams and Roger Woodward

Biographical Note:

Peter Sculthorpe was one of Australia's most highly influential and internationally significant composers. Born in Launceston, Tasmania in 1929, Sculthorpe was drawn to music from an early age. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music in piano from the University of Melbourne in 1950. His breakthrough in the music field came in 1955 when his Piano Sonatina (1954) was the first work of a resident Australian chosen for performance at the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival in Baden-Baden. In 1958, Sculthorpe was awarded the Lizette Bentwich Scholarship by the University of Melbourne, which allowed him to undertake postdoctoral studies at Oxford.

Sculthorpe returned to Australia in 1960 and in 1964 was appointed a Lecturer in Music at the University of Sydney. This was to prove the beginning of a long association with the University, where he mentored the next generation of composers, including Anne Boyd, Ross Edwards and Barry Conyngham. In 1969 he was appointed Reader in Music, in 1975 Reader and Sydney Moss Lecturer in Music and in 1992 Professor in Musical Composition (Personal Chair) and Sydney Moss Lecturer in Music.

The acclaim received with the performance of his work Irkanda IV in the early 1960s established Sculthorpe internationally. In 1965, he joined the list of composers of London publisher, Faber Music.

Sculthorpe wrote for the full range of musical genres, including works for orchestra, string quartet, solo instrument, voice and choir, film, ballet, theatre and opera. His music is flexible and versatile and has a strong sense of his Australian identity. There are many inter-connections between works. Works such as Earth Cry (1986) and Kakadu (1988) reflect the breadth, vastness and loneliness of the Australian landscape and the sounds of its wildlife. Other works, like Port Essington (1977) and Burke and Wills (1985), deal with the history of European settlement.

Sculthorpe also had a strong appreciation of the heritage of Indigenous Australians and their experience of the land. Many of his works drew on Aboriginal history, language or melody. In particular, the Aboriginal melody, Djilili, became something of a leitmotiv in his music. Reacting against the European musical tradition, Sculthorpe firmly located Australia in Asia and has been strongly influenced by Japanese and Indonesian music and philosophy. Sun Music III (1967) was his first piece exploring his Asian interest.

Sculthorpe was honoured with many awards and prizes, including an MBE (1970), an OBE (1977) and an Order of Australia (1991). He was also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and held four honorary doctorates. In 1998 he was elected by popular vote as one of Australia's 100 Living National Treasures and in 1999 he was made one of Australia's 45 Icons. In 2002, Sculthorpe became one of only four Australians to be made a life member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and in 2007 he received the Australia Council's Don Banks Music Award for his outstanding and sustained contribution to Australian music.

Sculthorpe's autobiography Sun Music: journeys and reflections from a composer's Life was published in 1999. He died in Sydney on 8 August 2014.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The original consignment comprises material purchased by the Library from Peter Sculthorpe in 2002, and a small addition relating to Sculthorpe's nomination for the Don Banks Award which was donated to the Library from Mary Jo Capps of Musica Viva Australia in 2006. Further papers were received in 2007 (Class 2) and 2015 (Class 3).

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Performing arts

Names:

Sculthorpe, Peter

Conditions Governing Access:

Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn109182).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Peter Sculthorpe, National Library of Australia, MS 9676, [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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