The beginnings and development of a New Zealand music: The life ...

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to his compositional activity. As a teacher and university lecturer,
he was responsible for guiding many young composers towards finding
their own voices. As an organiser and administrator, he was.responsible
for initiating and overseeing many projects or courses of action that
led to better opportunities for composers in New Zealand. As a composer,
he provided the stimulus of being a living example of what could be
achieved as a composer in New Zealand. As a person, he was responsible
for encouraging many individuals in their work.
The aim of this study, then, is to examine all aspects of the
'work' of Douglas Lilburn in initiating the beginnings and leading the
development (during the period 1940 to 1965) of a tradition of 'serious',
modern composition in New Zealand.
To this end, this study is organised into four separate parts.
Part I is primarily a biographical overview, tracing the life and work
of Douglas Lilburn from his birth to his retirement from employment at
the Victoria University of Wellington. In this, the circumstances
surrounding the composition of his major works will be backgrounded and
placed in a chronological perspective. Lilburn's activities as a
teacher, administrator and organiser will be documented, and his
relationship with various music organisations and individuals relevant
to the history of composition in New Zealand will be outlined.
Part II is concerned with his most important 'work' - his music.
Discussion in this is confined to an examination of his most important
compositions written for traditional media. Some thirty compositions
are analysed in varying detail, with an emphasis placed upon working
towards a definition of the style of Douglas Lilburn's music, and a
description of the progression and development of this style throughout
his output.
Part III provides a summary of the conclusions reached in the
preceding two parts, as well as examining in further detail two of the
major themes that can be found in Lilburn's work. The first of these
themes is his relationship to the New Zealand environment - the 'New
ZealandnessT'of·his music. The second theme is that of his centrality
to the development of New Zealand composition through the period in
question: in this, his work will be set in a perspective against the
work of other New Zealand composers at this time, and his relationship
with these composers discussed.
Part IV comprises a set of appendices relevant to the
documentation of the life and work of Douglas Lilburn and to the
general growth of composition in New Zealand.