As a close study of five significant Australian composers, the work is a useful contribution to the literature. Hooper has extensive access to archives, interviews and correspondence, some which have become newly available. Hooper uses these sources to establish a history of the construction of infrastructure which underlies the explosion of postmodern music in Australia after 1975. * The Modernist Review *
The third quarter of the 20th century was a time of particular turbulence for classical composers, when both extreme conservatives and intransigent radicals could have successful careers. Michael Hooper traces the progress of a group of Australian composers in an unstable cultural world of striking polarities - national, international: traditional, progressive. As he shows in telling technical detail, a distinctive musical identity might involve exploring how opposed extremes can either converge or diverge: and by homing in on explicitly Australian contexts that involve painters, writers, academics and even politicians, Hooper's well-documented analyses capture the most memorable qualities of compositions from a time when post-tonal modernism remained a positively mainstream concern. * Arnold Whittall, Professor Emeritus of Music Theory & Analysis, King's College London, UK *
Michael Hooper's Australian Music and Modernism: 1960-75 presents a rigorously researched and original account of a decisive but often overlooked period in Australian music. Whereas most current understandings of Australian contemporary music focus on the country's turn towards postmodernist nationalism around 1975, the author demonstrates that this period was preceded by a deep and intimate engagement with international modernism. The book is a must for everyone interested in Australian music or musical modernism. * Bjoern Heile, Professor of Music, University of Glasgow, UK *
Replete with rich analytical detail, Hooper's book throws into relief the complexities of a regionally-specific project of becoming musically modern. Most impressively, by tracking shifts in compositional attitudes and techniques, musicological discourse and public reception over a fifteen-year period, Hooper elegantly reveals the ways modernism and nationalism can shape artistic narratives. * Jonathan Goldman, Professor of Musicology, Faculty of Music, Universite de Montreal, Canada *
This ambitious book represents a substantial advance in the scholarly documentation of a crucial period in Australia's musical development. * Music & Letters *
Australian Music and Modernism is an important contribution to the scholarly literature and a welcome acquisition to the bookshelves of scholars interested in this topic. * Revue de Musicologie *
