Centre and Periphery, Roots and Exile

"This volume of essays elegantly weaves together personal accounts, documentary studies, musical analyses, and reflections on performance and aesthetics, providing a vivid picture of how Anhalt, Kurtág, and Veress (re)defined their identitiesmusical, political, and personalin the context of the places where they chose or resigned themselves to live. Readers both familiar and less familiar with this repertory will enjoy the wide range of new perspectives and sources presented. A most inspiring read." - Christoph Neidhöfer, Schulich School of Music, McGill University
"The book's editors ... have shaped this diverse collection of approaches and perspectives into a wide-ranging but coherent whole, bringing together essays that examine how ideas of place and identity impinge on the creation, analysis, and interpretation of twentieth-century art music..... While Centre and Periphery is likely to be read primarily by those interested in the music of Veress, Kurtág, and Anhalt, it is a substantial contribution to the broader literature on identity and migration. With is emphasis on Anhalt, the book is a major contribution to the study of musical lie in post-WWII Canada.... The Wilfrid Laurier University Press deserves much praise for taking on this very worthy project and presenting it in this richly illustrated and finely edited form. This relatively small university press has rapidly carved out a niche with a number of titles on music in postwar Canada, among them In Search of Alberto Guerrero (2006), Music Traditions, Cultures, and Contexts (2010), Weinzweig (2011), and Beckwith's memoirs, Unheard Of (2012). The WLU Press has just issued Out of Time (2013), the biography of another Nazi-era refugee, the conductor, Georg Tintner. These twenty-first century assessments of recent history come not a moment too soon and have much to say about music and imagination in twentieth-century Canada. Both Centre and Periphery, Roots and Exile and Mapping Canada's Music tell the stories of individuals uprooted and forced to find new beginnings in a country that was accepting of their talents and that was enriched by their contributions." - Brian C. Thompson, Fontes Artis Musicae, 61/1
The strength of this probing collection lies in the way the various approaches to place and displacement offer insights into interpreting key works by these three composers." - Pamela Margles, The WholeNote, February 1March 7, 2012
"Centre and Periphery contains a wide variety of approaches that collectively provide valuable insights into the three composers and their work. Since over half the book is devoted to Anhalt, it is especially important as a contribution to the growing body of Anhalt research.... The editorial work is top notch, with beautifully typeset musical examples and reproductions of manuscript pages.... Rounding out the presentation are biographies of all the contributors as well as a first-rate index."- Edward Jurkowski, CAML (Canadian Assoc. of Music Libraries) Review, 40, No. 1, April 2012
"The value of Centre and Periphery, Roots and Exile is threefold: this superbly edited collection of essays overcomes narrow specialization in demonstrating the key importance to contemporary music of Anhalt, Kurtág, and Veress. Fresh new sources are explored; the tensional relation of music and nationality is probed. Above all, the authors succeed in drawing us into the fascinating world of these composers, whose rich cross-cultural perspectives and ingenious re-engagement with music of the past assume enhanced relevance for us today." - William Kinderman, School of Music, University of Illinois