Douglas Lilburn occupies a pre-eminent position in New Zealand music, with a legacy extending well beyond his compositional output. As a composer, teacher and mentor he presided in innumerable ways over the artistic growth of New Zealand from 1940 onwards. From the early works redolent of the influence of Sibelius and Vaughan Williams, to the electro-acoustic pieces of his later years, hisworks have been instrumental in establishing a genuinely vernacular voice in New Zealand classical music.
In 2005 Trust Records launched the first volume in the award-winning recording series showcasing all of Lilburn’s piano music, receiving ‘Best Classical Album’ in the 2005 Recording Industry of New Zealand Music Awards and in the same year, Gramophone acclaimed that ‘[These] performances and recordings are unobtrusively excellent.’
This edition is a companion to the recorded series and draws on the expertise of Dr. Robert Hoskins, an Associate Professor at Massey University, and Rod Biss, formerly of Schott London, Faber Music and Price Milburn Music, who was instrumental in first publishing Lilburn’s piano music in the 1970s. Having worked with Lilburn directly on these early publications, Biss has now revisited original source materials in the preparation for this series. Together, the editors have carefully considered and clarified Lilburn’s manuscripts and early publications in preparing these volumes as both scholarly and practical editions for performance, and presented with the exacting and elegant house style of Promethean Editions.
This collection does not generally include juvenilia, trivia, incomplete or rejected pieces/movements. Exceptions are specified in the notes.
This edition comprises of five volumes published in celebration of the centenary of Lilburn’s birth in 2015. This ‘centenary’ collection draws on the expertise of Dr Robert Hoskins, an Associate Professor at the New Zealand School of Music, and Rod Biss, who as Production Director of Faber Music and then Price Milburn, was instrumental in first publishing Lilburn’s music in the 1970s. The editors, previous collaborators on the Douglas Lilburn Complete Piano Edition, have carefullyconsidered and clarified Lilburn’s manuscripts and early publications in preparing these volumes as both scholarly and practical editions for performance, and presented with the exacting and elegant house style of Promethean Editions.
