Margaret Sutherland

Who was Margaret Sutherland?

Margaret Ada Sutherland was an Australian composer, among the best-known female musicians her country has produced.

A student of Edward Goll in Australia and of Sir Arnold Bax in London during the 1920s, Margaret Sutherland wrote pieces in almost all forms, but particularly concentrated on the genre of chamber music. Her major works include a symphony, The Four Temperaments, concertos for various instruments, a symphonic poem entitled Haunted Hills, and the chamber opera The Young Kabbarli. A severe stroke in 1969 ended her composing career.

Despite the emphasis on non-vocal works in her total output, one of Margaret Sutherland's most recognised pieces is "In the Dim Counties" for voice and piano accompaniment from Five Songs. Sutherland sets her music to the poetry of Shaw Neilson, considered a ‘"pastoral" lyric poet’ from Australia whose verse has ‘simplicity of form and restraint of utterance’. Sutherland captures this through sharp rhythms, light instrumentation and ‘even musical balance’. Five Songs has been recorded by numerous Australian female artists such as Helen Noonan.