Philip Bračanin (born 26 May 1942) is an Australian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

Life

Bračanin was born in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

, the son of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n immigrants. His early musical studies were with Miss Olive Ruane, and he graduated from the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

in 1962 with bachelor's degrees in mathematics and music. He pursued graduate studies at the same school in

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

specialising in analysis of

20th-century music The following Wikipedia articles deal with 20th-century music. Western art music Main articles *20th-century classical music *Contemporary classical music, covering the period Sub-topics * Aleatoric music *Electronic music *Experimental music *E ...

, earning an MA in 1968 and a PhD in 1970. His master's thesis was on the music of

Mátyás Seiber Mátyás György Seiber (, sometimes given as Matthis Seyber; 4 May 1905 – 24 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, ...

and his doctorate thesis (The Thematic Process in Dodecaphonic Music - An Analytical Study) was on the music of

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

. From 1970 to 2008 he served on the staff of the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. For 9 years he was Dean of the Faculty of Music and 10 years Head of the School of Music and is now Emeritus Professor. Professor Bracanin served on the boards of the Australian Music Centre, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra,

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...

and 4MBS Classic Radio. Bračanin initially began composing music in the 1970s for the purposes of creating music that would more effectively teach his students salient aspects of twentieth century compositional techniques. He eventually became interested in creating more serious compositions for their own sake, with his 1977 Trombone Concerto being now regarded as his first mature work. He has since produced a considerable body of music, including symphonic works, choral works, chamber music, and pieces for solo piano. Many works by Bračanin are published by the

Australian Music Centre The Australian Music Centre (AMC), founded as Australia Music Centre in 1974 and known as Sounds Australian in the 1990s, is a national organisation promoting and supporting art music in Australia. It operates mainly as a service organisation, a ...

. He has occasionally been musically inspired by the Dalmatian Croatian musical heritage of his forebears. In 1988 Bračanin was composer in residence at the Anglo-Australian Music Festival in Birmingham, England. In 1991, he fulfilled a similar role at the Bournemouth International Festival, at which two of his works were performed, including a festival commission. In 1995 his Guitar Concerto won the APRA Award for the best Australian Classical Composition. In 2014 he was composer in residence for the Rottingdean Spring Music Festival at which the oboe concerto, Shades of Autumn, was premiered.

Selected works

Orchestral

* ''With and Without'' (1975) * ''Heterophony'' (1979) * ''Rondellus Suite'' for string orchestra (1980) * ''Sinfonia Mescolanza'' (1982) * Concerto for Orchestra (1985) * Concerto for Orchestra No. 2 (1987) * ''Muzika za viganj'' (1989) * ''Dance Poem'' for chamber orchestra (1990) * ''Elysian Voyage'' for string orchestra (1992) * ''Dance Tableaus'' (1993) * Symphony No. 1 (1994) * Symphony No. 2 for soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra (1994); words by

Judith Wright Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award and nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 196 ...

and

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

* Symphony No. 3 (1995) * ''Windmills of Time'' for string orchestra (2000) * ''Clocktower'' (2002) * ''University of Queensland Processional'' (2003) * Symphony No. 4 (2006) * ''St. Lucia Suite'' for string orchestra (2007) * Symphony No.5 (2018) * Symphony No.6 (2018) * Symphony No.7 (2018) * Symphony No.8 (2019) * Symphony No.9 (2019) * Symphony No.10 (2020) * Symphony No.11 (2021) * Symphony No.12 (2022)

Wind ensemble

* ''Spiral Resonance'' for symphonic wind band (1999)

Concertante

* Concerto for trombone and orchestra (1977) * Concerto for piano and orchestra (1980) * Concertino for piano and string orchestra (1983) * Concerto for violin and orchestra (1983) * Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (1985) * Concerto for cello and orchestra (1989) * Concerto for oboe and string orchestra (1989) * Concerto for viola and orchestra (1990) * Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra (1991; premiered 1992 by Karin Schaupp) * ''Dance Gundah'' for orchestra with solo didjeridu (1998) * Concertino for trombone and orchestra (1999) * ''Blackwood River Concerto'', Double Concerto for guitar, marimba (or vibraphone) and orchestra (2002,revised 2022)) * ''Shades of Autumn'', Concerto for oboe and chamber orchestra (2003) * ''Shades of Autumn'', Concerto for oboe and string orchestra (2014, revised 2022) * ''Shadows of Time'', Double Concerto for oboe, guitar and chamber orchestra (2005)

Chamber music

* String Quartet (1971) * Suite for trombone and piano (1976) * ''Three Pieces'' for violin and piano (1976) * ''Forpasis'' for wind sextet (1977) * ''Tre affetti musicali'', Duo for flute and guitar (1989) * ''Of Thoughts Unspoken'', Quartet for clarinet, viola, cello and piano (1996) * ''Thoughts Feelings Actions'' for guitar solo (1997) * ''Midsummer Nights' Music'', Suite for 3 guitars (1999) * ''Under Yaraandoo'' for guitar, didjeridu and percussion (4 performers) (1999) * String Quartet No. 3 (2000) * ''Blackwood River Suite'' for guitar and string quartet (2001) * ''KL Sojourn'' for string quartet (2004) * ''Four Bagatelles'' or guitar solo * ''Four Diversions'' for guitar * ''Mesco Lanza'' for cello and piano

Piano

* ''Al ma'luma'' (1976) * ''Three Pieces''

Vocal

* ''Selections from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'' for mixed chorus and string orchestra (1976) * ''From the Roundabout Singing Garden'' for mixed chorus and string orchestra (1976); text by C.J. Dennis * ''Because We Have No Time'', Song Cycle for baritone and orchestra (1981); poems from

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

and

:#The Force That through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower :#And Death Shall Have No Dominion :#One Circumlocution :#No Time :#Our Bias :#Another Time * ''A Woman's Question'', Song Cycle for soprano and pianoforte (1982) * ''A Quiet Quick Catch of the Breath'', Song Cycle for 2 sopranos, alto, tenor, 2 basses (1986); poetry by Michael Thwaites * ''Throw Me a Heaven around a Child'', Song Cycle for baritone and orchestra (1986) * ''No Further Need'', 2 Two-part Songs for female voices; poetry by Michael Thwaites * ''Eternal Image'' for soprano, clarinet, horn and piano (1998)