Guy Rickards' innovative biography examines three German composers - Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-63) and Hans Werner Henze (b. 1926) - and demonstrates how a number of parallels can be drawn between their works, influences and roles in musical history, despite their varied backgrounds, musical approaches and political leanings. A combination of new directions and German traditions was common to the music of all three...