Peter Tahourdin
Encyclopedia
Peter Richard Tahourdin was an English-born Australia
n composer. His compositions range from orchestral and chamber music to choral and educational music, as well as music for the opera and ballet. However, his principal contribution was in the field of electronic music
.
, Hampshire
in 1928. He was the second child, and only son, of Major Victor Tahourdin and Veronica Price.
Tahourdin went to Wellington College
, and then in 1949 began his music studies at Trinity College of Music
in London
with Richard Arnell
. He graduated in 1952 as a trumpet player and in the following years worked as a performer and broadcaster in England, the Netherlands and Canada.
In 1964, he married writer and editor Barbara Ker Wilson.
, on the recommendation of the chief conductor of the then South Australian Symphony Orchestra
, Henry Krips
, who had conducted his 2nd Sinfonietta. In 1965 he was commissioned by the Australian Ballet to compose the score for Garth Welch
's ballet Illyria (1965), which was produced at the 1966 Adelaide Festival of Arts
.
In 1966 he spent a year studying a Masters Degree in electronic music at the University of Toronto
in Canada
. On returning to Adelaide he became active as a composer, lecturer and broadcaster, and he established the first practical course in electronic music in Australia at the University of Adelaide in 1969. His students there included Martin Wesley-Smith
.
He joined the Faculty of Music at the University of Melbourne
in 1973, and this formed the base for the rest of his working life here. He was chairman of the Composers' Guild of Australia 1978-79.
In 1978, having already been divorced from his wife, he married Jane Todner.
He retired from the University of Melbourne in 1988 at the age of 60 in order to work full-time as a composer.
In 2003, Andrew Ford
wrote the duo for flute and clarinet Sounds and sweet airs as a tribute to Tahourdin on his 75th birthday.
Peter Tahourdin died on 28 July 2009, aged 80. He was survived by both wives, two daughters and two grandchildren.
. He developed a pioneering electronic studio, and began his friendship with another English-born Australian composer, Tristram Cary
.
and the continuing military conflict in Cambodia
. The Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra was written in 2007. His Elegy for string orchestra and percussion, subitled "A lament for a world that might have been", was written in 2005.
), Songs of Love and Fortune (1992, a setting of five poems from the Carmina Burana
)., as well as two cycles written for the tenor Damien Top
: Chansons intimes (7 poems by Andrée Brunin
for voice and harpsichord) and The Ern Malley
Sequence (tenor & piano) (2007)
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n composer. His compositions range from orchestral and chamber music to choral and educational music, as well as music for the opera and ballet. However, his principal contribution was in the field of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
.
Early life and career
Peter Tahourdin was born in BramdeanBramdean
Bramdean is a village in Hampshire, England. The village church is 12th century and is dedicated to St Simon and St Jude. There is also a maintained by the Bishop Charity.-External links:...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
in 1928. He was the second child, and only son, of Major Victor Tahourdin and Veronica Price.
Tahourdin went to Wellington College
Wellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
, and then in 1949 began his music studies at Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with Richard Arnell
Richard Arnell
Richard Anthony Sayer Arnell was an English composer of classical music. Arnell composed in all the established genres for the concert stage, and his list of works includes six completed symphonies and six string quartets.-Biography:Arnell was born in Hampstead, London...
. He graduated in 1952 as a trumpet player and in the following years worked as a performer and broadcaster in England, the Netherlands and Canada.
In 1964, he married writer and editor Barbara Ker Wilson.
Move to Australia, and later life and career
With his wife and two daughters, Tahourdin migrated to Australia in 1964. He was appointed visiting composer to the University of AdelaideUniversity of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, on the recommendation of the chief conductor of the then South Australian Symphony Orchestra
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded as a 17 player radio ensemble in 1936, in Adelaide, South Australia. The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55 member South Australian Symphony Orchestra. It reverted to its original and present title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1974, and...
, Henry Krips
Henry Krips (conductor)
Henry Maria Krips MBE was an Austrian-Australian conductor and composer, best known for his 23-year record term as principal conductor of the South Australian Symphony Orchestra...
, who had conducted his 2nd Sinfonietta. In 1965 he was commissioned by the Australian Ballet to compose the score for Garth Welch
Garth Welch
Garth Welch is an Australian dancer and choreographer.- Early life and training :Welch grew up in Brisbane, Queensland. His initial dance training took place under the guidance of the respected teacher Phyllis Danaher....
's ballet Illyria (1965), which was produced at the 1966 Adelaide Festival of Arts
Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
.
In 1966 he spent a year studying a Masters Degree in electronic music at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. On returning to Adelaide he became active as a composer, lecturer and broadcaster, and he established the first practical course in electronic music in Australia at the University of Adelaide in 1969. His students there included Martin Wesley-Smith
Martin Wesley-Smith
Martin Wesley-Smith is an Australian composer with an eclectic output ranging from children's songs to environmental events. He works in a range of musical styles, including choral music, operas, computer music, music theatre, chamber and orchestral music, and audiovisual pieces which bring words,...
.
He joined the Faculty of Music at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
in 1973, and this formed the base for the rest of his working life here. He was chairman of the Composers' Guild of Australia 1978-79.
In 1978, having already been divorced from his wife, he married Jane Todner.
He retired from the University of Melbourne in 1988 at the age of 60 in order to work full-time as a composer.
In 2003, Andrew Ford
Andrew Ford
Andrew Ford is an English and Australian composer, writer and radio presenter.He was Composer-in-residence with the Australian Chamber Orchestra , held the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composer Fellowship from 1998 to 2000 and was awarded a two-year fellowship by the Music Board of the Australia Council...
wrote the duo for flute and clarinet Sounds and sweet airs as a tribute to Tahourdin on his 75th birthday.
Peter Tahourdin died on 28 July 2009, aged 80. He was survived by both wives, two daughters and two grandchildren.
Musical style and interests
Tahourdin had wide musical interests including "chamber music, the orchestra, Indian music and music theatre", but his dominant interest for most of his career was electronic musicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. He developed a pioneering electronic studio, and began his friendship with another English-born Australian composer, Tristram Cary
Tristram Cary
Tristram Ogilvie Cary, OAM was a pioneering English-Australian composer.-Early life:Cary was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and Westminster School in London. He was the son of a pianist and the novelist, Joyce Cary, author of Mister Johnson...
.
Operas
- Inside Information (1955, one-act)
- Parrot Pie (1973, one-act opera for children)
- Heloise and Abelard (1991, chamber opera; first performed at the 1993 Perth International Arts FestivalPerth International Arts FestivalThe Perth International Arts Festival is Australia's longest running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia between February-March. The program features contemporary and classical music, dance, theatre, opera, visual arts, large-scale public works, Lotterywest Festival Films and the...
; first European production at Festival International Albert Roussel in French Flanders, 2000) - The Tempest (2000, based on ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's playThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
but not yet staged).
Orchestral works
Peter Tahourdin wrote two sinfoniettas (1952, 1959); and five symphonies (1960, 1969, 1979, 1987, 1994), all of which except the fifth have been performed. The fifth was inspired by the genocide in RwandaRwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and the continuing military conflict in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. The Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra was written in 2007. His Elegy for string orchestra and percussion, subitled "A lament for a world that might have been", was written in 2005.
Chamber music
Tahourdin's chamber music includes the Clarinet Sonata (1962), the four Dialogues (1971-84), the Quartet for Strings (1982), the Raga Music series (1985-88), Music for Solo Viola (2001), and Look at the Stars for flutes, clarinet, cello and marimba (2006). There are also solo works for piano, violin, cello and bassoon.Vocal music
His vocal music includes The Starlight Night (Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
), Songs of Love and Fortune (1992, a setting of five poems from the Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana , Latin for "Songs from Beuern" , is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces were written principally in Medieval Latin; a few in Middle High German, and some with traces...
)., as well as two cycles written for the tenor Damien Top
Damien Top
Damien Top is a French tenor, musicologist and conductor, and is artistic director of the International Albert Roussel Festival....
: Chansons intimes (7 poems by Andrée Brunin
Andrée Brunin
Andrée Brunin was a French poet Her output includes :*Fille du Vent, Poems - Nomad’s land, Paris, 2003.*La pensée, story for children....
for voice and harpsichord) and The Ern Malley
Ern Malley
Ernest Lalor "Ern" Malley was a fictitious poet and the central figure in Australia's most celebrated literary hoax. The poet, and his entire body of work, were created in one day in 1944 by writers James McAuley and Harold Stewart as a hoax on Max Harris, Angry Penguins, the modernist magazine he...
Sequence (tenor & piano) (2007)