Peter Sculthorpe
Born in 1929 in Launceston, Tasmania, Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe died today at the age of 85. Sculthorpe began writing music as a kid, after having his first piano lesson. He studied at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music from 1946 to 1950, then returned to Tasmania. Unable to make any money as a composer, he went into business, running a hunting, shooting and fishing store in Launceston. As from the Sixties on, he had success as composer. In 1963 he became a lecturer at the University of Sydney, and remained there more or less ever since, where he was an emeritus professor. In his music of all genres he happily melted native Australian music with that of the heritage of the West. Among his best known works are Kakadu (1988) and Earth Cry (1986), which evoke the sounds and feeling of the Australian bushland and outback.
