Philip Rupprecht is Associate Professor of Music at Duke University, North Carolina. He has published widely on twentieth-century British music and his books include Britten's Musical Language (Cambridge, 2002) and two edited volumes, Rethinking Britten (2013) and Tonality 1900–1950: Concept and Practice (2012). He is also the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Humanities Center, and the Wolfe Institute, Brooklyn College.

• Introduction; 1. Between nationalism and the avant garde: defining British modernism; 2. Post-war motifs; 3. Manchester avant-garde: Goehr, Davies and Birtwistle to 1960; 4. A Manchester generation in Paris, London, and Rome: Musgrave, Maw, Crosse, and Bennett; 5. Group portrait in the sixties: Davies, Birtwistle and Goehr to 1967; 6. Instrumental drama: Musgrave and Birtwistle in the sixties; 7. Vernaculars: Bedford and Souster as pop musicians; 8. The incurably heterogeneous Tim Souster: between Elektronische Musik and pop; Epilogue.

'There are three reasons for its success. Firstly, a huge arc of musical history is investigated. It explores beyond the 'Manchester Group', into areas which have not been adequately studied. Secondly, the extensive bibliography is an ideal place to commence any in-depth enquiry into this generation of composers. Thirdly, the musical works analysed may be challenging, but they are all important and significant contributions to the period. Philip Rupprecht's clever approach to this investigation combines technical details with reception history which makes this book an impressive gateway into this complex, sometimes off-putting, but always thought-provoking musical world. … This present volume is an essential survey of a generation of British music that has been largely ignored. … I believe that this book sets the baseline for all research into the 'avant-garde' of the British post-Second World War era.' John France, MusicWeb International (www.musicweb-international.com)