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

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coupled with Lilburn's Symphony No.3. a
Of the other orchestral works written during Lilburn's first
period of composition, all have achieved a limited amount of exposuxe
through being performed and broadcast by the National Orchestra. Again,
it was the work that had the least initial impact that has since proven
to be the most durable (and the one of most merit). This work, Symphony
~, was completed in 1951. It failed to gain an award in a composition
competition in which it was entered at this time, and had to wait until
]959 for its first performance. Now it is generally regarded as the
pinnacle of Lilburn's orchestral writing in his 'nationalist' period of
composition.
Song of the Antipodes, Symphony No.1 and Suite for Orchestra have
all remained, since their first performances, in the twilight world of
half-acceptance, half-neglect. Unlike Symphony No.2 and the two early
overtures, they remain to date both unpublished and unrecorded. However,
their importance in establishing Lilburn as an orchestral composer cannot
be overlooked. Through their existence and their intermittent airings,
they have added body to the corpus of works in the medium that much of
Lilburn's reputation as a composer rests upon. For this reason, coupled
with the fact that they are works of merit, they need to be added to a
representative sample of Lilburn's compositions from his first period of
writing.
Of Lilburn's writing for string orchestra during his first period
of composition, one work in particular has been regularly performed
throughout the years. The reasons for this wide exposure of Landfall in
Unknown Seas undoubtedly lie with the fact that the work features a
narrator reading a poem commemorative of an important facet of New
Zealand's history. Certainly it is of less substance than other string
orchestral works Lilburn wrote at this time; it is possibly this, also,
that makes the work more accessible and appealing to audiences.
Of the nine works employing string orchestra a further two warrant
inclusion in a sampling of Lilburn's writing from his .first period of
composition. These are Allesro for strings of 1942 and Diversions of
1947. Allegro is a work of power equal to.that embodied in Aotearoa
Overture, whilst Diversions represents the lighter side of Lilburn's
writing found in his scherzo movements, and in passages of contrast in
the more serious-natured works. Both Allesro and Diversions have been
performed with relative frequency over the years.
a Kiwi SLD-14.