Being such a huge Sibelius fan, I remember being positively charmed on my discovery of the music of Douglas Lilburn. Lilburn is probably New Zealand’s most celebrated composer.

Lilburn studied journalism and music at Canterbury University College (then part of the University of New Zealand), before embarking for London’s Royal College of Music. There he was tutored by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The two remained good friends, with Lilburn sending his former teacher gifts of New Zealand honey.

Lilburn made his mark at home not only as a composer, but also as a conductor and a noted teacher. For decades, beginning in 1947, he was associated with Victoria University in Wellington.

Astonishingly, for one whose own music was so rooted in tradition, Lilburn founded the first electronic music studio in Australasia. This followed visits to electronic facilities at Darmstadt and the University of Toronto.

Actually, his comparatively thorny Third Symphony signaled something of a turning point. Soon after its completion, in 1961, he shifted his attention exclusively to electronics, a field in which he spent the remainder of his career. Many of his works in the medium evoke the New Zealand landscape and the natural sounds he loved so well.

Lilburn died in 2001. He was 85 years old. He has been described as the “elder statesman” and “grandfather” of New Zealand music.

Happy birthday to this Sibelius of the Southern Cross!

Liliburn’s “A Song of Islands” (1946):

The composer in the electronic music studio he founded:

PHOTO: Ant’s-eye Antipodean