National Library of Australia
 The Sculthorpe Collection Peter Sculthorpe The Music Sculthorpe's Artistic Wold Links Peter Sculthorpe - Entry Page
The Sculthorpe Collection

It is extremely rare to find so prominent a figure as Sculthorpe with such a rich and comprehensive collection of papers. As Manuscript Librarian Graeme Powell explained, ‘The great collections of papers have usually been kept by people who aren’t so famous and famous people often aren’t so good at keeping papers.’

Sculthorpe is by nature a collector. He began collecting newspaper cuttings and other items about his musical activities in his teens when he started giving piano performances in Launceston. This personal record was initially collected with only himself in mind. However, knowing that his papers will be preserved in the National Library, he now feels ‘it was all worthwhile that I had collected all these years.’

Sculthorpe’s family also contributed to the wealth of early material in the papers. At one point his brother, Roger, discovered some early scores Peter had discarded. Salvaging them from the rubbish bin, he kept them and presented them to his brother on his 21st birthday. Similarly, Sculthorpe had not realised that all his weekly letters home had survived until they were rediscovered when sorting his mother’s estate.

The papers provide a picture of Sculthorpe from his development as a young child, through his emerging sense of himself as a teenager, to the fully developed professional composer. They tell many stories of his relationships with other artists and of the whole fabric of musical life, from the writing of a composition to its publication, performance and recording, and the many people and organisations involved in this process.

The papers include over 300 manuscript scores in the composer’s hand, from juvenilia such as his Adagio in Major Keys, Op. 1 Nos. 3–4 (c.1941–42) to mature works such as the Sun Music series (1965–69), Port Essington (1977), Earth Cry (1986), Kakadu Click to listen to audio(1988) and Quamby (2000). The scores are supported by reviews, cuttings, programs, articles, correspondence and notes for lectures and talks. These provide insight into both the composer’s understanding of his music and how his music has been experienced and valued in the broader musical world. In this way, the papers supply a wonderful context for the way in which Australian music has grown in the last 50 years.

Sculthorpe’s correspondence with the London firm, Faber, will provide a wealth of insight into the role of music publishing in the composition process. From airmail and telegram to email and fax, from handwritten scores to photocopies and the computerised scores of Sibelius 7, the correspondence also documents the impact of technological change on the industry.

The correspondence is complemented by the many photographs that depict the composer at all the various ages and stages of his career and give a visual sense of the person. Whether amateur snaps or professional portraits, they show the various circles of relationships of which he is a part: his family, friends, students, colleagues and fellow artists.

The collection also includes a large component of artworks related to the composer. These range from his own drawings as a child; to works inspired by his music, both by students and professional artists; to many portraits of the composer in a variety of media and styles. The artists represented include Russell Drysdale, Judy Cassab, Greg Hocking, Les Tanner, John Coburn and Eric Smith.

The Sculthorpe Papers will be available for viewing in the Manuscript Reading Room from early December 2002. A basic listing will initially accompany the papers while a more detailed finding aid is being prepared.

Peter Sculthorpe - Entry Page The Sculthorpe Collection Peter Sculthorpe The Music Sculthorpe's Artistic World Links