"....will provide enlightening reading not only to all
people associated with music, but also to the general reader who
wants to know how destiny and history impinge on the human
being."
Yehudi Menuhin.
"Irene Lawford-Hinrichsen has written an unsurpassable
history of a great publishing house whose leading composers were
at the forefront of European music for centuries. More than this,
she tells the searing story of this family business in the
changing times of artistic expansion, and Nazi domination. The
author gives us all something to think about and something to be
proud of."
Professor Denis Stevens - Musicologist.
"This book does many things. Most obviously it tells the
story of the family dynasty in charge of one of the most famous
imprints in music publishing. In so doing, it throws light on the
immense contribution to the culture (artistic and educational) of
Germany (and Leipzig in particular) made by such a family. It
explains what persecution and the Holocaust meant to particular
people.
Notable stories - the relationship with the Griegs and the
Regers, and other composers, for example, the genesis of Mahler's
Fifth Symphony and Schönberg's Five Orchestral Pieces, the
British judgement in favour of Max Hinrichsen against Novello -
are fascinating in all sorts of ways. It is informative
throughout and very often moving, especially given the restraint
with which Irene Lawford-Hinrichsen relates what is after all a
tragic story about her own family."
Professor Brian Groombridge, University of London.
"The history of Peters is complex and sometimes beggars
belief, especially the part during this century. This book sheds
valuable light on this extraordinary saga and the story is
movingly told with great commitment. For anyone, this gives an
invaluable insight into what has brought Peters to the present
day."
Nicholas Riddle, MD Peters Edition Ltd., London.