Nigel Butterley
Nigel Butterley (1935–2022) was an Australian composer and pianist. His catalogue ranges from radiophonic and choral scores to chamber, vocal and orchestral works, and as a pianist he was closely identified with contemporary music and the prepared piano.
Born in Sydney on 13 May 1935, Nigel Butterley studied piano with Frank Warbrick and composition with Noel Nickson and Raymond Hanson. A gifted pianist, he was giving broadcast recitals by the age of fourteen, yet he chose composition as his career. In 1961 he travelled to Europe and, at the suggestion of Sir Michael Tippett, studied under Priaulx Rainier.
Returning to Australia in 1963, he composed Laudes, inspired by profound religious experiences in Italy. Its first performance at the 1964 Adelaide Festival placed him among the leaders of the ‘new wave’ of Australian composers. His reputation was confirmed in 1966 when the radiophonic choral work In the Head the Fire won the Italia Prize, ahead of Berio’s Laborintus II.
From the 1960s he built a substantial catalogue: a violin concerto, orchestral pieces, and vocal and chamber works. Early scores such as Laudes and Meditations of Thomas Traherne grew from a deeply personal faith. Later, Walt Whitman’s poetry became a major source, yielding Sometimes with One I Love for two singers, speaking voice and ensemble, and the radiophonic Watershore for actors and instruments, which used seashore photographs as graphic notation. Other works include Interaction, an improvisation for painter (John Peart) and orchestra, and First Day Covers (with Barry Humphries for Dame Edna Everage), both written for the ABC Sydney Prom Concerts.
As a pianist he specialised in contemporary music and in lesser-known works from other periods. His performances of Messiaen’s Visions de l’Amen and John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes (TP025) for prepared piano were especially acclaimed.
Artist's website: www.nigelbutterley.info
Press quotes
Butterley…is a fine and underrated pianist, especially in music which…oscillates between gentle meditation and whimsy…He brings 20 years' performing experience of these pieces to this recording
The Australian composer and pianist, Nigel Butterley, is clearly sympathetic to this side of Cage and also sustains the cycle successfully
Nigel Butterley is featured on the following titles
There Came a Wind like a Bugle: Chamber Music by Nigel Butterley
Chamber works spanning some thirty years by Nigel Butterley, one of Australia’s finest composers, for soloists, song and choir.
Composer
John Cage: Works for Prepared Piano
Nigel Butterley is well known as one of Australia’s finest composers. He was also an accomplished pianist, and by this 1993 release had been performing these Cage works for more than twenty years. Critics have long praised the style and colour he draws from the prepared piano.
Compositions by Nigel Butterley also appear on
Mass of the Dreaming
It is remarkable that 2016 brought the first recording by an Australian choir devoted entirely to Australian sacred choral music. This disc fills that long gap with newly commissioned and recent works.
Kingfisher
This CD is the result of a daring project to commission 21 composers to write new works for Halcyon's two singers, Jenny Duck-Chong and Alison Morgan. Presented over two concerts in their 15th anniversary year, and then recorded at Trackdown.
An Australian Collection
Nineteen tracks drawn from the Tall Poppies catalogue, chosen to show the range and depth of Australian composition and performance across the label’s first decade.
Mere Bagatelles
As an overview of Australian composition in the 90s, this CD could not be bettered: a musicianly survey of short piano works, with performances of real authority.
Cello Dreaming
Pereira has inspired more new works for his instrument than any other Australian musician. This is his first solo CD of works mostly written for him, and the first of three such discs then planned. His performances are powerful and persuasive.
Spinning: New Australian Flute Music
Geoffrey Collins has single-handedly shaped the Australian flute repertoire, and this is his third solo recording. Five of these works were written for him, and they show how freely composers respond to his playing.
Notations
Stephanie McCallum is a Sydney-based pianist who specialises in contemporary music. Her performances bring light and colour to these works. Music by Xenakis and Boulez sits well beside a generation of Australian composers.
Christmas under Capricorn
The Australian Youth Orchestra, conducted by Graham Abbott, plays nineteen Christmas carols arranged for orchestra by Australian composers. Two carols appear in paired settings, inviting comparison. Listenable festive music, easy to give as a gift.