Ross Edwards turns 80 this year. Birthday celebrations include two world premieres, commissioned by Omega Ensemble and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Musician and composer Nicholas Routley is a good friend of Edwards. He reflects on the idiosyncratic music of the prolific composer.

Ross Edwards
Ross Edwards. Photo © Jay Patel, courtesy of Omega Ensemble

I have known Ross Edwards since 1975, the year of my arrival in Sydney from Cambridge in the UK. He and his wife Helen saved my life six weeks after I got here. I had contracted the as yet unidentified disease hepatitis C on my journey to Australia through India. Having been discharged from the Prince Henry Hospital with the words “there is nothing wrong with you”, even though...