The second of three volumes of orchestral music by Larry Pruden is now available. Pruden retains a special place in the history of music in New Zealand. Alongside Douglas Lilburn, he was among the first generation of composers in the country to establish a genuine vernacular. This volume includes some of his most important orchestral works, including Westland - A Back-Country Overture, Akaroa and Taranaki: A Centenary Celebration for New Plymouth, all of which reflect the beauty and grandeur of the New Zealand landscape. The Collected Edition has been edited from extant source material and brings these essential works of Pruden into an elegant and definitive format. This volume features correspondence between the composer and his wife including his memories of legendary conductor Walter Susskind who conducted the premiere performance of Taranaki in 1976.
With Douglas Lilburn, John Ritchie and others, Larry Pruden belongs to the earliest generation of New Zealand composers to discover a genuine vernacular, and in his music is reflected the trail-blazing spirit of the pioneers, their passion for creativity and their rebelliousness of spirit. Throughout his output, whether the music is modest in scale and purely functional (civic fanfares and radio advertising jingles, for example) or more extended and overtly ‘serious’ in tone (such as the larger works for orchestra and strings), Pruden’s vivid response to urban society and rural life in New Zealand is revealed.
