Sydney-born Australian composer Lisa Illean has been nominated for a prestigious Ivor Novello Award, recognising her work among the best in contemporary classical music.

Now based in the United Kingdom, Illean is shortlisted in the Chamber Ensemble Composition category at The Ivors Classical Awards for her work arcing, stilling, bending, gathering.

Written for piano, string ensemble and pre-recorded sound, the piece explores moments of kinship and tenderness through the interplay of live and recorded fragments. Illean drew inspiration from family photographs and the films of Soviet-era Russian director Sergei Eisenstein.

Lisa Illean. Portrait supplied

Limelight’s reviewer described listening to the work as “stepping into a minimalist art gallery, as the sole viewer, walking around and pausing to observe every part of an artwork, letting each look reveal something new. The familiar feels unfamiliar and vice versa.” (Read the full review here)

Illean joins 33 other composers and librettists nominated across six categories at this year’s Ivors Classical Awards, which will take place at London’s BFI Southbank on 11 November. Presented by BBC Radio 3’s Kate Molleson and...