Douglas Lilburn (1915–2001) is considered ‘the father of New Zealand music’. After considerable success, he rejected composing for acoustic musical instruments and turned wholly to the creation of electronic works because he felt they would more accurately portray New Zealand in its own right, without reference to European musical forms. Some works are purely electronic; others were inspired by the natural sounds of the sea or bush, or the writings of leading New Zealand writers such as Allen Curnow, Denis Glover and Alistair Campbell.
