Australian classical music has developed from early years in the Australian colonies, until today. Today, each state and territory has an orchestra and there are many major venues where classical music is performed.
History Early settlers The earliest western musical influences in Australia can be traced to two distinct sources: in the first settlements, the large body of convicts, soldiers and sailors who brought the traditional folk music of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland;For more information, see Warren Fahey's essay "Australia and Its Traditional Music" and the first free settlers, some of whom had been exposed to the European classical music tradition in their upbringing. An example of original music by a convict would be an 1861 tune dedicated to settler James Gordon by fiddler constable Alexander Laing. Very little music has survived from this early period, although there are samples of music originating from Sydney and Hobart that date back to the early 19th century.Oxford, A Dictionary of Australian Music, Edited by Warren Bebbington, Copyright 1998 Musical publications from this period preserved in Australian libraries include works by Charles Edward Horsley, William Stanley, Isaac Nathan, Charles Sandys Packer, Frederick Augustus Packer, Carl Linger, Francis Hartwell Henslowe, Frederick Ellard, Raimund Pechotsch and Julius Siede. 19th century
Isaac Nathan's 1847 Don John of Austria was the first opera to be written, composed and produced in Australia. The establishment of choral societies (c. 1850) and symphony orchestras (c. 1890) led to increased compositional activity, although most Australian classical composers of this period worked entirely within European models and many undertook their training in composition in Europe or the United Kingdom. One of the earliest known composers was George Tolhurst, whose oratorio Ruth was the first composed in the then colony of Victoria in 1864. Some works leading up to the first part of the 20th century were heavily influenced by folk music (Percy Grainger's "English Country Gardens" of 1908 being a good example of this). An estimated 10,000 Australians and New Zealanders traveled to Britain each year from the late 1880s to the early 20th century, and the number doubled between the World Wars. A majority was likely female, often a musician; in 1907 one commentator said that Australia's principal exports to Britain were "frozen sheep and pretty-voiced girls". Success in London was often seen as a prerequisite for fame in Australia for singers such as Nellie Melba, Amy Sherwin, and Ada Crossley.
Australian composers who published classical music during the late nineteenth century include Hugo Alpen, Hooper Brewster-Jones, Thomas Bulch, Alice Charbonnet-Kellermann, George H. Clutsam, Herbert De Pinna, John Albert Delany Guglielmo Enrico Lardelli, Louis Lavater, George Marshall-Hall, Stephen Moreno, George William Torrance, Cesare Cutolo, Christian Helleman, and Augustus Juncker.
Even for composers, a trip abroad could make a career: George Frederick Boyle, who was born in the colony of New South Wales in 1886, had a great career in Australia as a piano prodigy but did not meet with international success as a composer until he traveled to Europe and the United States.
20th century
From the time of Australia's federation in 1901, a growing sense of national identity began to emerge in the arts, although a patriotic attachment with the "mother country" or "Home", that is Britain, and the Empire, continued to dominate musical taste. European musical training became more available in Australia through migrants like Alice Charbonnet-Kellermann, Fred Werner and as an academic pursuit under emerging conservatory academics like Ernest Truman and George Marshall-Hall. In the war and post-war eras, as the Australian national identity continued to build, composers looked to their surroundings for inspiration. John Antill in his ballet Corroboree, Peter Sculthorpe and others began to incorporate elements of Aboriginal music, Richard Meale drew influence from south-east Asia (notably using the harmonic properties of the Balinese gamelan), while Nigel Butterley combined his penchant for International modernism with an own individual voice.
By the beginning of the 1960s other strong influences emerged in Australian classical music, with composers incorporating disparate elements into their work, ranging from Aboriginal and south-east Asian music and instruments, American jazz and blues, to the belated discovery of European atonality and the avant-garde. Composers like Don Banks, Don Kay, Malcolm Williamson and Colin Brumby epitomise this period. Others who adhered to more traditional idioms include Arthur Benjamin, George Dreyfus, Peggy Glanville-Hicks and Robert Hughes. In recent times composers including Julian Cochran, Barry Conyngham, Brett Dean, Ross Edwards, Gordon Hamilton, Matthew Hindson, Elena Kats-Chernin, Graeme Koehne, Constantine Koukias, Stephen Leek, Georges Lentz, Liza Lim, Richard Mills, Carl Vine, Martin Wesley-Smith, Nigel Westlake, and David Worrall have embodied the pinnacle of established Australian composers.
James Murdoch played a large part in promoting Australian music both at home and internationally, and in bringing Peggy Glanville-Hicks and Richard Meale back from self-imposed artistic exile overseas.
Orchestras State-based symphony orchestras, originally managed under the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) but now operating as separate independent bodies, have played a major role in performing mainstream orchestral repertoire for the general public as well as commissioning new works from Australian composers and ensuring that works by contemporary international composers are introduced to their audiences. These include the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. There are also professional orchestras whose role is related specifically to opera and ballet performance, chiefly the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra based at the Sydney Opera House and Orchestra Victoria based in Melbourne.
There are several chamber orchestras which focus on works for smaller ensembles. These include the Australian Chamber Orchestra which tours regularly throughout Australia and has been well-received overseas,Reviews. ACO. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra,Experience orchestral music like never before. MCO. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. the Adelaide Chamber OrchestraHome. ACO. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. and the Camerata of St. John's.Camerata of St John's > Home . Camerata.net.au. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Orchestral ensembles which concentrate on historically informed performance include the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra,Australian Brandenburg Orchestra | HOME. Brandenburg.com.au. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Van Diemen's Band,Van Diemen's Band Retrieved 5 January 2021/ and the Orchestra of the Antipodes.Orchestra of the Antipodes (Original Instruments Ensemble) – Short History. Bach-cantatas.com (2010-09-06). Retrieved on 2011-04-14.
Leading chamber ensembles include the Australian String Quartet, the Goldner String Quartet, the Australia Ensemble,University of New South Wales – Australia Ensemble . Ae.unsw.edu.au (2010-10-26). Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Synergy Percussion,Profile . Synergy Percussion. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Dean Emerson,Home . Musica Viva. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. TRIOZ,Selby and Friends – Welcome. Trioz.com.au (2011-03-22). Retrieved on 2011-04-14. the Sydney Soloists,Home . Musica Viva. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. the Southern Cross Soloists,Home . Musica Viva. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Guitar Trek,Home . Musica Viva. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Collusion (chamber ensemble),The Chamber Music Series. Collusion.com.au. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. the Elandra String Quartet, the Zephyr Quartet,Home. Zephyrquartet.com (2011-04-07). Retrieved on 2011-04-14. and the Tinalley String Quartet.Tinalley String Quartet . Melba Recordings. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Chamber ensembles involved in historically informed performance include Marais Project,The Marais Project. The Marais Project. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Accademia Arcadia,Home . Musica Viva. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. La Compania,Home . Musica Viva. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. Ironwood,Ironwood Chamber Ensemble. Ironwood Chamber Ensemble. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. and probably Australia's oldest group of this kind, The Renaissance Players.
Musica Viva Australia, now the largest entrepreneur of chamber music in the world,According to their 2009 annual report, Musica Viva Australia organised 2,221 music events was founded in 1945 and has provided a major stimulus for public interest in chamber music by organising annual subscription programs of concerts by leading international and Australian ensembles.Home. Musica Viva. Retrieved on 14 April 2011 Further interest has been stimulated by events such as the Australian Festival of Chamber MusicAustralian Festival of Chamber Music. Afcm.com.au. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. which was founded in 1991 and is held each year in Townsville, the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and the Asia-Pacific Chamber Music Competition, held every four years in Melbourne, organised by Musica Viva in partnership with the Melbourne Recital Centre and the Australian National Academy of Music.
Several Australian composers have written chamber works. Among the older composers, Peter Sculthorpe stands out because he wrote 18 string quartets,Page 4 . Petersculthorpe.com.au. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. with performances in Australia and overseas and recordings by leading groups such as the Kronos Quartet. In the next generation, Brett Dean, himself a violist of note and a composer who has received world-wide recognition, has written several works for various ensembles including a string quartet called "Eclipse" which was commissioned by the Cologne Philharmonie Kölner Philharmonie – Home. Koelner-philharmonie.de. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. for the Auryn Quartet,Auryn Quartett – Streichquartett – string quartet. Aurynquartet.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. a string quintet entitled "Epitaphs" premiered in 2010 at the Cheltenham Music Festival,The Power of Four. Cheltenham Festivals. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival,Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Sfcmf.org. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. La Jolla SummerFestLa Jolla Music Society – Home. Ljms.org. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. and the Cologne Philharmonie, and a sonata for violin and piano commissioned by MidoriWelcome to Violinist Midori's Official Web Site. Gotomidori.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. for performance in 2010 in Stockholm and the Wigmore Hall,Home | Wigmore Hall : Classical Chamber Music & Song Concerts. Wigmore Hall. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. London. Dean's near-contemporary, Julian YuJulian Yu : Represented Artist Profile. Australian Music Centre. Retrieved on 2011-04-14. has written over 30 works for various chamber ensembles including conventional trios and quartets, as well as unusual combinations such as a quintet for four percussions and piano, a septet for flute, percussion, harp, violin, viola, cello and double bass entitled "Pentatonicophilia", and an unconventional reworking of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for 16 instruments.