Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I would like to pay tribute to a genuinely unique and remarkable Australian man, Peter Sculthorpe, who sadly passed away on 8 August. Described as a 'supremely elegant and unpretentious man', his contributions have left the Australian landscape a richer and more innovative environment. ABC Classic FM Broadcaster, Christopher Lawrence, commenting on Peter's passing remarked:

At a time when we rate unthinking patriotism over a considered nationalism, his expression of what it is to be on this patch of earth is a call to civility and compassion.

I could not have said it better myself. Peter was born and raised in my own beautiful state of Tasmania in the city of Launceston. His talent saw him continue his studies at the University of Melbourne and at Wadham College, Oxford. Peter was composer-in-residence at Yale University while visiting the United States as a Harkness Fellow in 1966 and 1967, and was a visiting professor at the University of Sussex in 1972-73.

Recognition for Peter's extraordinary work has been widespread. He was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1977, a Silver Jubilee Medal, he received the degree of Honorary Doctor of Letters from both the University of Tasmania and the University of Sussex, and Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Melbourne. Peter was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990 shortly after he was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Peter received the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award for outstanding service to Australian music in 1994. Awards and prizes for his music include an Australian Film Industry award for best original film score in Manganinnie in 1980, and the 1985 and APRA award for most performed Australian serious work. In 1991 and 1996 Sculthorpe's orchestral works and music for strings won the piano concerto Australian Record Industry Association award for best classical music recording.

A proud Tasmanian, Peter touched each life he encountered with his humility and charm. Peter's obituaries are littered with homages to his genuine personality, his mentoring and his kindness. Many have said what a privilege it was to have known and worked with Peter Sculthorpe. Peter was a great supporter of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and the ABC, recognising these organisations as an important part of Australia's cultural landscape. This recognition is exemplified by philanthropy—donating $3.5million to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Peter's work was uniquely Australian, infused with his love of the Australian landscape. His compositions brought Australians a sense of their land and history in the music of one of their own, integrating the music of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and Asian music into a modern representation of multicultural Australia. Indigenous music from the Pacific rim, from the Aboriginals, the Japanese and the Balinese combined with the sounds of the wild birds, wind, and thunder. Peter said:

While on the surface it might appear to be painting a picture, I mean what I'm really doing ... is seeking the sacred in nature.

As our most acclaimed contemporary composer, Peter's work included his 1960s series Irkanda and later works such as Kakadu and Earth Cry evoked inspiring sounds of the Australian outback. Other works included Mangrove, Memento Mori and the Rites of Passage, originally commissioned for the opening of the Sydney Opera House. His last major orchestral work, Requiem, for mixed chorus, didjeridu and orchestra was written for the 2004 Adelaide Festival.

As a prolific composer of chamber music and as a re-arranger of his own music, Peter's legacy is such that my limited time cannot give adequate recognition to his genius. Peter's work has influenced generations of Australian composers, including Anne Boyd, Ian Cugley, Ross Edwards and Barry Conyngham and will likely influence many more in the future.

Peter Sculthorpe was a uniquely distinctive musical voice whose passing leaves a wonderful legacy of compositions and recordings for Australians to enjoy for generations to come. He will be deeply missed.