24 February 2022
Farewell Nigel Butterley (1935-2022)
Image: Nigel Butterley with Hildegard the cat © Bridget Elliot
The Australian Music Centre was saddened to hear of the passing of Nigel Butterley AM on 19 February 2022.
Nigel was a pre-eminent and prolific Australian composer, broadcaster, and teacher. As eloquently phrased by Elliott Gyger, he "a key figure in the coming-of-age of Australian music in the 1960s", whose works influenced the likes of Tippett, Cage, Messiaen, and Gubaidulina. Nigel has been recognised with a number of awards and prizes throughout his career, including the Prix Italia (1966), Albert H Maggs Composition Award (1967), and the Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize (2001).
The outpouring of tributes from the music community is a testament to his wide influence and impact on the sound of modern Australian music, with his music continuing to be featured in concert performances and projects in Australia and abroad.
Nigel has been the subject of several articles published on Resonate, and we share them again with you now in reflection of his inventiveness and innovation:
- Nigel Butterley at 80 - A Reading and 7 Listenings, Chris Williams, April 2015
- Nigel Butterley's music, decade by decade, Elliott Gyger, February 2015
- Nigel Butterley and the Problem that Wasn't, Elliott Gyger, February 2008
We send our deepest condolences to Nigel's family and friends at
this time.
© Australian Music Centre (2022) — Permission must be obtained from the AMC if you wish to reproduce this article either online or in print.
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