# Best Australian Composers?



## Maevoleth (9 mo ago)

Hi all, I'm looking for well and lesser known composers from my country throughout its short history.

Any composers would be appreciated, thanks all!


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## Great Uncle Frederick (Mar 17, 2021)

Peter Sculthorpe: I can personally recommend ABC Classics 8.770042 ('Port Essington' and other works) and
SK 53361Sony Classical ('From Australia', features John Williams playing works by Sculthorpe and Nigel Westlake's 'Antarctica')
Brett Dean: he's quite well-known although I don't have any recordings of his works.
:


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Brett Dean, Chris Dench, Liza Lim, Peter Sculthorpe, Carl Vine


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## VoiceFromTheEther (Aug 6, 2021)

Percy Grainger


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Ross Edwards


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

From the ones that haven`t received any mentions yet, Alfred Hill was a prolific one and he is one of the well-recorded Australian composers. I know some works by Arthur Benjamin, John Antill, Peggy Glanville-Hicks and Miriam Hyde but I think they all fall into the lesser-known composers category.

Peter Sculthorpe is probably the best-known Australian composer and quite justly so but I should mention that my personal favourite is Chris Dench.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Not mentioned yet: Elena Kats-Chernin and Margaret Sutherland.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Technically, Chris Dench was born in London in 1953 and did not become an Australian citizen until 1992 - but he identifies himself no longer Anglo-Australian, and simply now as Australian. If anyone is interested I interviewed Chris in 2018, you can read that longish interview and in depth analysis of his piano sonata, *here*.


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

VoiceFromTheEther said:


> Percy Grainger


VERY good composer, awesome pianist! I love him.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Don Banks & Malcolm Williamson


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Stephen Whittington (b 1953)


CB0048 | Cold Blue Music


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Ralph Hultgren


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

I'll second Nigel Westlake. He first caught my attention with his film score to 'Babe', a witty and brilliantly scored smorgasbord of musical style. This below is just sensational imv....


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Great Uncle Frederick said:


> Peter Sculthorpe: I can personally recommend ABC Classics 8.770042 ('Port Essington' and other works) and
> SK 53361Sony Classical ('From Australia', features John Williams playing works by Sculthorpe and Nigel Westlake's 'Antarctica')
> Brett Dean: he's quite well-known although I don't have any recordings of his works.
> :


 The Met recently did a production Brett Dean's opera "Hamlet " , which I have not herd but would certainly like to . From what I hear it's a very different take on the famous Shakespeare play than the slightly more familiar "Hamlet " by the 19th century French composer Ambroise Thomas, which the Met revived. several years ago .


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I wonder. Are Australian composers marsupials ?


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