Miriam Hyde began composing at the age of four. After studying at the Adelaide Conservatorium, she went to the Royal College of Music in London in 1932. In England, Hyde developed her technique as both a pianist and composer, but a ‘nervous breakdown’ interrupted her studies. She recovered to complete her much-admired Second Piano Concerto. She returned to Australia and continued writing, performing and teaching, developing her own unique musical voice influenced by the Australian landscape, its birds and waterways.

(1997, 27 mins) A Film Australia National Interest Program.

© National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.