Music Of Don Kay

Catalogue # MD3345

For too long Kay has been under-rated and rather marginalised as ‘a Tasmanian composer’, as if being associated with the island state somehow automatically conveys a sense of second-class citizenship. To be sure, he was born there and has spent all but 15 of his 77 years living and working there; yet not only has he produced an enviable output of works encompassing all the principal media – three symphonies, four concertos, two one-act operas, six string quartets, choral works, song cycles, chamber music, solo piano works, music for theatre and film – but also it is precisely because of his constant exposure and profound response to the Tasmanian environment that he has been able to achieve a sonic and emotional distinctiveness in his music.

Of the six works, four have been composed for the performers on this CD, including the three piano sonatas, which receive their premiere performances.