Poetry and Music

The first half brought us two novelties. Beyond loyalty to his native New Zealand, conductor Andrew Sewell has rightly been bringing us music of his compatriots. None is more deserving of this than Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001), whose music is too little known in the U.S. His contribution was a score for strings, as paired with a poem, Landfall in Unknown Seas, by Allen Curnow. The two were commissioned to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Abel Tasman’s discovery in 1642 of what became New Zealand and Tasmania. Click here to read more