Having unaccountably fallen into neglect since its first one or two undocumented performances in the 1940s, the Suite for Strings can with this publication at last be assessed as the assured and confident work of a young composer finding his footing at home after study abroad. It is identifiably the first signpost towards the Allegro for Strings, Landfall in Unknown Seas and Diversions, three mature works for string orchestra that would seal Lilburn's future as the foremost New Zealand composer of his generation. The five movements are written in a comfortably approachable idiom redolent of the work of early mid-twentieth century English composers, making this an ideal addition to the repertoire of smaller and school orchestras.
Douglas Liburn occupies a pre-eminent position in New Zealand music, with a legacy extending well beyond his compositional output. As a composer, a teacher, and later as a warm, generous and encouraging background presence, he presided in innumerable ways over the artistic growth of this country. His music, from the early works redolent of the influence of Sibelius and Vaughan Williams, to the electroacoustic pieces of his later years, makes up a corpus of works that has been instrumental in establishing a genuinely vernacular voice in New Zealand classical music.
