Sinfonia for Strings might have been conceived by Lilburn as a companion to Landfall in Unknown Seas, drawing its images from the pioneer sheep-farming hill country of his youth. Sinfonia for Strings points to the growth of Lilburn's symphonic style through which New Zealanders could experience a common identity. The sunny appeal and rhythmic lift of the opening movement evokes scenes of an agrarian communal existence while the central movement moves toward the spiritual and the invisible. The finale gives voice to an aspirational national spirit that understands that the land, the soil and physical work are central to the human condition.