ABOUT
MARY FINSTERER stands as one of Australia’s preeminent composers. Her musical contributions have resonated not only in her homeland but have garnered international acclaim in Europe, Britain, the USA and Canada. Throughout her career, Finsterer has earned many prestigious awards, including representation at five International Society for Contemporary Music Festivals, the highly coveted Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize, numerous Australian Art Music Awards and commissions from acclaimed ensembles including Ensemble Intercontemporain, Arditti String Quartet, Ensemble Modern and Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne.
The legacy of her compositions is etched into two compilations, a double disc entitled Altered States encompassing her earlier work and Pendulum, which showcases her later compositions. Both compilations have been released on the ABC Classics|Universal label.
Also working in the field of screen music, Finsterer composed alongside renowned composer Marco Beltrami for the Hollywood blockbuster Die Hard 4. Her score for Shirley Barrett’s feature film South Solitary found recognition in the Film Critics Circle Australia Awards in 2010 and has also been released on the ABC Classics|Universal label.
In 2017, Finsterer’s inaugural opera, Biographica, was premiered by Sydney Chamber Opera and Ensemble Offspring at the Sydney Festival and enjoyed a sold-out season. Described as ‘inventive, engaging, stimulating, and profoundly moving,’ it earned the title of an ‘outstanding new opera that deserves a permanent place in the repertory. ‘
Finsterer’s latest opera, Antarctica, was premiered by Sydney Chamber Opera and Asko|Schönberg Ensemble at the Holland Festival in 2022 and Sydney Festival in 2023 to critical acclaim and a sold-out season. It was enthusiastically described as ’ambitious and exquisite’, ’an achievement of extraordinary beauty’ and ‘an astonishing new vision of what contemporary Australian opera can achieve.’ As with Biographica, the libretto was written by Tom Wright.
Finsterer has also achieved remarkable success as a curator, particularly with her work in the MSO Metropolis series, where her 2022 and 2023 concerts captivated audiences and achieved sold-out success, solidifying her reputation for creating profound and resonant musical experiences.
In 2023, Finsterer was the composer-in-residence for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The culmination of her residency, Stabat Mater evoked a spontaneous standing ovation from a full house. It was described by critics as the 'heart of the programme'.
Finsterer is published by the esteemed international publishing house, Schott Music.
“The music I compose is an amalgam of styles that brings together medieval and renaissance musical practice with 20th and 21st century innovations including electronics, orchestration and serial techniques. By infusing the material with historical, metaphorical and poetic references through word–painting and harmonic treatment, my aim is to create a language that speaks to the universality inherent in the power of music.” MF