"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." -- Björn Heile, Professor of Music, University of Glasgow, UK "In Australian Music and Modernism, 1960-1975 , Michael Hooper carefully tracks the shifts in understanding about what makes music modern and Australian. At the same time, the works by influential Australian composers that he describes refract the modernist universe as a whole, while maintaining their individuality.

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, Université de Montréal, Canada.