Margaret Sutherland: Six Profiles (1935) - 2. Expressively
Abstract
Recognised only belatedly during her lifetime, and almost universally admired after her death, Margaret Sutherland (1897-1984) had to struggle throughout her life for recognition as a composer. She fought with the musical establishment in her hometown of Melbourne, survived a difficult marriage, and had to grapple with ill-health, which eventually badly affected her eyesight and her ability to physically notate her own music. Sutherland's late scores are almost impossible to read, although thankfully they have now been transcribed and published. Although a fine pianist herself, there are not as many works for solo piano in Sutherland's oeuvre as one would have wished for. It is possible that she did not see herself as a soloist and therefore the finest works are rather more inward looking than vehicles for her own prowess. The output is diverse and changing, culminating in a very important set of pieces from mid-century and on. Going against the current of the time to produce soft and fluffy music for the piano, Sutherland's earliest published efforts are already lean and quite muscular, with a neo-classicist bent in both form and expression. The wonderfully evocative Six Profiles are very important stepping stones to Sutherland's late piano works, which are now highly cherished. The profiles are a set of contrasting pieces. Yet do they depict profiles of actual people? Are they purely musical profiles? We don't seem to know, but they are certainly a most effective set of miniatures. Most of them are but two pages in length. They contain within themselves great contrasts, and the performing indications are a fine descriptor of the contents, culminating in the last with quite savage intensity.