Inner Song: A Biography of Margaret Sutherland

By Jillian Graham

Margaret Sutherland was one of the most innovative and influential Australian composers in the first half of the twentieth century. In her desire to be both serious composer and mother, Sutherland was atypical of her era and faced significant challenges--public and private--in blending these roles. Against the backdrop of an unhappy marriage to an unsupportive husband, and a society not yet ready to accept her creative ambitions and strong opinions on Australia's musical development, Sutherland remained steadfast in pursuing her goals. Apart from her legacy of over two hundred compositions and ceaseless campaigning on behalf of Australian music and musicians, we have Sutherland to thank for the initial impetus to construct what is now Arts Centre Melbourne. Always at the mercy of 'ceaseless sound pictures' and 'floating ideas, ' she used idiosyncratic musical language in her attempts to redefine beauty in music. This book tells her remarkable story, revealing something of her 'inner song.'

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0522878237
• ISBN13: 9780522878233
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Melbourne University
• Length: 304 Pages