Larry Sitsky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emeritus Professor Larry Sitsky AO, FAHA
Sitsky in 2019
Born	Lazar Sitsky (1934-09-10) 10 September 1934 (age 90) Tianjin, China
Alma mater	New South Wales Conservatorium of Music
Occupation	Composer pianist music educator scholar

Lazar "Larry" Sitsky (born September 10, 1934) is a famous Australian composer, pianist, and music teacher. He has also done a lot of research about music.

Larry Sitsky was the first Australian invited to the USSR for a cultural exchange in 1977. He has won many awards for his music. These include the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award twice (in 1968 and 1981). He also received the Alfred Hill Memorial Prize in 1968. In 1989, he won an Advance Australia Award for his achievements in music. He also received the first Australian Composers' Fellowship. This award helped him write many new pieces, including concertos for violin, guitar, and orchestra. It also allowed him to work on his book Busoni and the Piano.

Larry Sitsky's Early Life and Career

Larry Sitsky was born in Tianjin, China. His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. From a very young age, he showed he had absolute pitch. This means he could identify musical notes or chords just by hearing them. He started playing piano early and gave his first public concert when he was nine. Soon after, he began writing his own music.

His family had to leave China in 1951 and moved to Sydney, Australia. Larry first studied engineering at university because his parents wanted him to. But he soon convinced them to let him follow his passion for music. He earned a scholarship to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. There, he studied piano and composition. He graduated in 1955.

In 1959, he won another scholarship to study in San Francisco for two years. After returning to Australia, he started teaching at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. His unique background, combining Russian, Australian, and American music training, made him a special expert in piano techniques.

Research and Teaching

In 1965, Larry Sitsky received a grant to research the music of Ferruccio Busoni. He has written many books and articles about Busoni. In 1966, he became the Head of Keyboard Studies at the Canberra School of Music. He later led the Musicology and Composition Studies departments. Today, he is an Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University in Canberra. This means he is a retired professor who is still highly respected.

Larry Sitsky has always performed music as well as composed it. He believes that composers should perform their music for live audiences. He thinks this helps keep music exciting and not too academic. As a performer, he often plays music from the 20th century. He also likes to change his musical style often to explore new ways of expressing himself.

Larry Sitsky in the Media

William Green, a composer and writer from New Zealand, created a radio program about Larry Sitsky. This program, on Radio New Zealand Concert, gave a short overview of Sitsky's life and music.

Larry Sitsky's Musical Works

Larry Sitsky has published several books about music. These include The Classical Reproducing Piano Roll and Music of the Repressed Russian Avant-Garde, 1900–1929. He has also recorded many CDs of Australian piano music.

Many important Australian and international groups have asked him to create new musical pieces. These include the ABC and Musica Viva Australia. He also has a special agreement with his New York publisher, Seesaw Music Corporation, to publish anything he writes.

In 2011, Larry Sitsky announced he would write a series of operas based on the stories of Enid Blyton. These operas were first performed at the ANU School of Music.

Opera

• The Fall of the House of Usher, 1965
• Lenz, 1970
• Fiery Tales, 1975
• Voices in Limbo, 1977
• The Golem, 1980
• De Profundis, 1982
• Three scenes from Aboriginal life: 1. Campfire scene, 2. Mathina, 3. Legend of the Brolga, 1988

Ballet

• Sinfonia for Ten Players ("The Dark Refuge") (1964)

Orchestral Music

• Concerto for Orchestra (1984)
• Symphony in Four Movements (premiered in 2001)

Concertos

• Piano Concerto (1991, revised 1994)
• Cello Concerto (1993)
• Violin Concerto No. 4 (1998)
• Zohar: Sephardic Concerto for mandolin and orchestra (1998)
• Jewish folk song (1955)

Solo Instrument Music

• Improvisation and Cadenza for solo viola (1964)
• Khavar for solo trombone (1984)
• "Sayat Nova" for solo Oboe (1984)

Vocal Music

• Incidental music to Faust for solo piano and three sopranos, 1996
• Seven Zen Songs for voice and viola (2005)

Awards and Honours

In 1997, the Australian National University gave Larry Sitsky its first Higher Doctorate in Fine Arts. In 1998, he became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He is also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University.

In 2000, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). This was for his great work in music as a composer, music researcher, pianist, and teacher. In the same year, he received the Centenary Medal for his service to Australian society through music. In 2017, Sitsky was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. This was for his outstanding contributions to the arts as a composer and concert pianist, and for his work in music education.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are yearly awards that celebrate excellent music in Australia.

Don Banks Music Award

The Don Banks Music Award was created in 1984. It honors a very important artist who has made a huge and lasting contribution to music in Australia.

Personal Life

Larry Sitsky is married to Magda Sitsky, who was born in the Czech Republic.