Marcela Fiorillo to play a tribute to Peter Sculthorpe

Argentinian pianist Marcela Fiorillo has a particular affection for the much revered musician, Peter Sculthorpe, and as part of her recital at the Larry Sitsky Room on November 8 she will play, in homage to him, a piece that he considered one of his best works. "A Little Book of Hours is a symbol of the way Peter composed," Fiorillo says. "It is charming, with a beautiful projection of sound, very much Peter Sculthorpe harmonies."

In January 1998 Sculthorpe wrote: "A Little Book of Hours reflects some aspects of a day in the life of Koori children ... Aborigines of south eastern Australia. In the music the evening star heralds a lullaby; and the morning star heralds a song of sunrise; this is followed by dancing, which comes to an end as the sun gathers strength. The six pieces are musically inter-related: some of the connections reveal themselves easily, and some are hidden, awaiting discovery."

Fiorillo will also play two more Sculthorpe works. Callabonna is based on a dry salt lake in the north-eastern part of South Australia, a place of wonderful bird life, something that was always dear to Sculthorpe's heart with bird cries often very much a part of his music. Fiorillo describes the work as "peaceful and romantic" and a contrast to the second work, Mountains, which pays homage to Tasmania and is "powerful and majestic, beginning quietly and then spreading in sound. There are two final chords that, to me, sound just like 'a – men'."

Fiorillo will also play her own composition, Weereewa, Voices of the Land, a work for piano with voice-over transcription texts to Ngunnawal language and didgeridoo by Duncan Smith, which was commissioned by the committee of The Lake George Festival and performed and recorded as part of the festival early this year. "It's a representation of the landscape of Australia," Fiorillo says, "and a kind of bridge between Peter and me." The first time she met Sculthorpe he told her that he believed that she loved the works of the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera and his images of landscapes. Sculthorpe also tried to represent the landscapes of his country, Australia. A close bond developed between the two of them. She sent her work, Weereewa to him but as he was so ill in hospital he was unable to hear it. "But finally he did hear it," she says, "just three days before he died.

"Peter was a kind of mystic," Fiorillo says, "and so was Olivier Messiaen whose music I also love. The end of the last movement of Weereewa , called Golden Wings, is a homage to him, especially the last chords."

An exciting section of Fiorillo's recital will be the Australian premiere of Five Tango Etudes, a work by Argentinian composer Martin Kutnowski. The first piece, Bordoneo, is named for the lowest string of the guitar, the second, Tango, is described by Fiorillo as "rhapsodic", and the third, Milonga, a homage to Astor Piazzolla, has a syncopated rhythm. The fourth piece, Payada, represents the competitive composing and singing of verses and derives from South American gauchos, and the final piece, Fugue, is, Fiorillo says, "a wonderful work on a tango theme".

Kutnowski and Fiorillo were colleagues at the Buenos Aires Conservatory. "We shared wonderful experiences," she says, "and I always tried to push for his compositions to be heard." She premiered Five Tango Etudes at the University of New York – a dramatic launch at which she arrived late after an airport delay, barely having time to dress and walking onstage with no time to acquaint herself with the piano. However, the Steinway turned out to be perfect and Fiorillo later recorded the work on the same instrument.

Kutnowski is now head of music at Saint Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada. Fiorillo will play the Argentinian premiere of Five Tango Etudes in Buenos Aires this December at the Second International Piano Conference and also give the premiere of Weereewa, Voices of the Land.

Fiorillo's concert on November 8 will be sponsored by the Embassy of Argentina and ANCLAS – Australian National Centre for Latinamerican Studies.