Eve de Castro-Robinson was Associate Professor and Head of Composition at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her output ranges from large orchestral to vocal, chamber and electroacoustic works, with her inspiration coming from a wide range of eclectic sources, including hymns, sonic art, free jazz, poetry, punk, abstract painting and contemporary dance, to name a few.
Eve de Castro-Robinson was Associate Professor and Head of Composition at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her inspiration comes from a wide range of eclectic sources, including hymns, sonic art, free jazz, poetry, punk, abstract painting and contemporary dance, to name a few. Her output ranges from tiny microscores, often with a theatrical component, like whisper for snare and whorl for bass drum, and Hau for untrained voice and crystal glass, to instrumental and chamber music and large-scale canvasses such as The glittering hosts of heaven for seven soloists and orchestra, Triple Clarinet Concerto and her 90-minute chamber opera LEN LYE.
de castro-Robinson sees each new work as presenting a fresh challenge, with the composer keen to reveal something of herself at every turn, though idiosyncrasies remain – an intensity whether restrained or overt, a fervent love of colour, whether pastel or primary, an undercurrent of whimsy, and a strong sense of gesture. She has never been comfortable being part of any movement or musical tribe, as she cannot see the attraction of merely “keeping up with the Darmstadt Joneses”, as Lilburn so aptly, and somewhat waspishly, put it, but she has often felt the comforting hand of influence on her composing shoulder, strengthened by the fire in the belly and a certain youthful guilelessness. While many of her works are highly virtuosic, she has been increasingly drawn to creating utterances of a more pared back, restrained and ritualistic type, that include simple lines, drones, repeated-note motifs and much use of the voice.
