Distant Music: The Life And Times Of Alfred Hill, 1870-1960

When Alfred Hill died, two weeks before his 90th birthday, in 1960, an epoch in Australian and New Zealand music drew to a close. Yet, despite the esteem and affection in which he was generally held, the story of his life had yet to be told. Of course, it was well known that at the age of sixteen, before the turn of the century, Alfred Hill left Wellington for the Leipzig Conservatory. But the implications of the following momentous four-year residence, which afforded glimpses of Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Max Bruch and Richard Strauss among the members of the avant-garde, and virtuosos such as Sarasate, Ysaÿe and the flautist Taffanel, were by no means generally appreciated. Born in Melbourne of English parents, he was New Zealand’s first fully professional composer and a leading figure in Australian music from the early years of the century. He impinged on the cultural life of both countries in a way in which his celebrated compatriot and friend, twelves years his junior, Percy Grainger, for example, never did. The detailed charting of these historic events has fallen – fortunately – to the lot of John Mansfield Thomson, whose A Distant Music is itself something of a historic event. Carefully researched, perceptively written, a mature product of the environment it describes, this book be gratefully received by Australian and New Zealand musicians and all those who think seriously about the artistic and social development of the two countries, including the many resident overseas. Indeed, as one of the first fruits of an emergent Australasian musicology, beautifully printed and tastefully illustrated with copies period photographs, drawings, cartoons and facsimiles, it sets in every respect a dauntingly high standard for further endeavor in this field.