Sven Libaek
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Sven Erik Libaek (born 20 September 1938) is a Norwegian-Australian composer, record producer and musician. He composes film and TV soundtrack music and, as the staff producer for the Australian division of
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...
, influenced the Australian popular music scene in the mid-1960s. In 1982, an album titled ''Endless Love'' peaked at number 71 in Australia; his only top 100 charting release.


Biography

Libaek was born in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
on 20 September 1938, trained as both a pianist and an actor and is a graduate of the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
in New York. He first achieved international recognition with a role in the Louis de Rochemont film ''
Windjammer A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts, however rigged. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam during the 19th century. The Oxford English Dictionary records t ...
'' in which he both acted and performed as piano soloist with
Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American Conductor (music), conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Pops orchestras. With a combi ...
and the
Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...
. Libaek first came to Australia in 1960 as a member of the band the Windjammers, which toured the United States and Australia to promote the film. Shortly after the group broke up, Libaek and his wife returned to Australia to live. In 1963 Libaek was hired by the newly established CBS Records (Australia), which had been incorporated following the 1960 takeover of the
Australian Record Company The Australian Record Company (ARC) was a record label and manufacturer later acquired by CBS Records International. Originally known as Featuradio, a company formed in 1933 by George Sutton and his brother-in-law James M. Sayer. They sold the bus ...
by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
in the United States. During his tenure as musical director and A&R manager for CBS (as well as general manager for April Music Publishing in Sydney) Libaek built up a roster of pop, folk and jazz performers and produced over two hundred singles and albums, as well as writing (or co-writing with his wife) many of the titles he produced. His CBS credits include producing all the CBS recordings by
surf music Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...
band
the Atlantics The Atlantics are an Australian surf band founded in 1961. Initially, the band line-up consisted of drummer Peter Hood, bassist Bosco Bosanac, Theo Penglis on lead and rhythm guitar, and guitarist Eddy Matzenik. Matzenik was replaced by Jim S ...
including their hit "Bombora", folk musicians
Gary Shearston Gary Rhett Shearston (9 January 19391 July 2013) was an Australian singer-songwriter and Anglican priest. He was a leading figure of the folk music revival of the 1960s and performed traditional folk songs in an authentic style. He scored a top ...
and
Patsy Biscoe Patsy Biscoe (born 1946) is an Australian children's television personality, singer and guitarist. She regularly appeared on children's national television shows, ''Here's Humphrey'' and ''Fat Cat and Friends''. She has released many children's ...
. He left CBS in 1968 to work as a freelance composer, arranger, conductor and established his own music production company. Libaek's Australian film and TV credits include ''
Nickel Queen ''Nickel Queen'' is a 1971 Australian comedy film starring Googie Withers and directed by her husband John McCallum. The story was loosely based on the Poseidon bubble, a nickel boom in Western Australia in the late 1960s, and tells of an outback ...
'', '' The Set'', ''To Ride A White Horse'',
Vincent Serventy Vincent Noel Serventy Order of Australia, AM (6 January 1916 – 8 September 2007) was an Australian author, ornithologist and Conservation movement, conservationist. Life and career Born in Armadale, Western Australia, the youngest of eig ...
's nature series ''Nature Walkabout'', the drama series '' Boney'', the
Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
and Valerie Taylor underwater documentary series ''Inner Space'', ABC-TV's magazine series '' A Big Country'', ''The World Around Us'', ''Joe Wilson'' and ''The Settlement''. He worked with
Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations with film director David Lean composing all of ...
as musical co-ordinator and orchestrator for the
Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born 21 August 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He is known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), '' Gallipoli'' (1981), '' The Y ...
film '' The Year of Living Dangerously'' and also hosted his own TV show on ABC-TV, ''All About Music'', in 1974. Libaek lived and worked in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
from 1977 to 1994 where he orchestrated more than 300 popular songs for US radio stations and artists including
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
and
Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...
, and he also worked for the
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
company, composing the scores for all of the ''
Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 ''Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10'' is a series of 10 syndicated made-for-television animated films produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' programming block from September 20, 1987 to November 20 ...
'' animated TV movies. During his career, Libaek has had more than thirty albums of his music released. His has composed concert works for instruments including the piano, classical guitar, flute and clarinet and he is the resident conductor of Sydney's Sutherland Shire Symphony Orchestra. For the Australian Centenary of Federation in 2001 he was commissioned by the
Sutherland Shire Council Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...
to compose a work for symphony orchestra, choir and brass band, with words by his wife, Lolita Rivera. ''The First Shire'' was performed at Cronulla Beach in front of 10,000 people in January 2001. While living in the United States, Libaek was a frequent adjudicator for the
Glendale Unified School District The Glendale Unified School District is a school district based in Glendale, California, United States. The school district serves the city of Glendale, portions of the city of La Cañada Flintridge and the unincorporated communities of Mont ...
in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. In Australia he has served as adjudicator for the Ryde and Goulburn Eisteddfods and the Sutherland Shire instrumental competition for young people conducted by the Sutherland Shire Music Club. He has taught piano at
Shore School The Sydney Church of England Grammar School (commonly known as Shore or Shore School) is an independent Anglican school for boys located on Sydney's Lower North Shore, New South Wales, Australia. The school operates across two campuses, offer ...
, acts as composer-in-residence at
Port Hacking High School Port Hacking High School is a high school situated in the Sutherland Shire, in the south east region of Sydney, New South Wales. It was opened in 1959 and was the first comprehensive high school within the Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire ...
and frequently lectures at the
Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. Opened to students in 1973 as Film and Television School (FTS), after accredita ...
in Sydney. Libaek has been a member of the Music Arrangers Guild of Australia for over thirty years, joined the national executive in 1996 and was elected president of the guild in 2000. Libaek's soundtrack music has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years following its use in the 2004 film ''
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou ''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy-drama film written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach and directed by Anderson. It is Anderson's fourth feature-length film and was released in the United States on Decem ...
''; thanks to the influence of the film's Australian co-star,
Noah Taylor Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is a British born Australian actor. The accolades he has received include nominations for three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Award, and four AACTA Awards. He is best known for his ...
. Its director,
Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...
, selected five Libaek compositions (originally written for ''Inner Space'' and ''Boney'') as part of its score.


Filmography


Films


References


External links


Libaek's credits as composer, orchestrator, conductor/supervisor and producer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Libaek, Sven 1938 births Living people Australian record producers Australian male composers Australian composers Australian music arrangers People from the Sutherland Shire Norwegian expatriates in Australia Musicians from Los Angeles Juilliard School alumni Easy listening musicians