Canadian Composers

[jowcol]

My search for a Canadian Composers Discussion folder yielded no results, but I'll go ahead and start this thread.  (With hopes that a treasure trove of Colin McPhee's unknown works appears...)

I've posted the Violin Concerto by Erhei Liang.  Although born in China, he's been active in Canada for the past two decades, and I think he would be better classified as Canadian for now.



Material from the Canadian Music Centre.

BIOGRAPHY
Erhei Liang was born in the Peoples Republic of China, and was trained in both composition and conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 1986, Liang moved to the United States to study composition at Louisiana State University, where he graduated with a DMA in 1992. Since his immigration to Canada in 1991, he has become deeply involved in the local Chinese community and music community of Scarborough. He currently serves as president of the Chinese Artists Society of Toronto, as artistic director of the Academy of Chamber Music for young Musicians, and as executive director of the Toronto Chinese Piano and String Teachers' Association. He also conducts the Xiaoping Chorus, and is composer-in-residence for the Hong Kong Chamber Chorus. His works have been performed in China, the US, and Canada at such prestigious institutions as the Weill Recital Hall in New York, and the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.


Interview, Liang's Cultural Influences: China to Canada
"In Canada, I am not only encouraged by Canadian multiculturalism, but also by the [artistic] demands from the large Chinese community in Toronto." –E.L.

Having lived, composed and studied in China, the U.S.A. and Canada, Erhei Liang has a unique perspective on the composer's role within the artistic worlds of these three countries. In China, he explains, "because of political reasons, [...] there were obvious limits for any composer [...] My compositional approach was more traditional. In the U.S.A., I touched on many contemporary Western styles. In Canada, I am free to compose with either approach, or to combine both. [...] In Canada, a composer's work involves [more than] applying existing techniques and styles, but also searching for new methods and new approaches."

Since his arrival in Canada in 1991, Erhei Liang has become vital to the Chinese arts community of Toronto. His commitment to multidisciplinary work and bridging groups in the community was a major theme in his 2008 composition, Songs of Love. Liang's idea was "to use music to turn the poetry into a stage work and a performing art, so that this [ancient story] could appear new to the audience." The work was intended for both art music and mainstream audiences, since, as Liang notes, "the [appeal] of art can be as powerful as that of entertainment."

[jowcol]

Organ Concerto by Jacques Hetu

Oliver Latry, Organ
Toronto Symphony Orchesta
Peter Oundijian, Conductor
17 April 2008   (This is NOT the performance streamed at the  Canadian Music Center site, but a more recent one)
From the Collection of Karl Miller



Wow. 
I noticed a discussion about Hetu here:   http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,2328.msg28030.html#msg28030.  Based on what I've sampled, Hetu is definitely someone whose music I wish to know better.   More or less  tonal, yet not conventional.   This concerto seems to appeal equally to the emotions and the mind.  I want do dig into his symphonies--I like what  I've heard.

Anyway,  this completes a "trilogy" of organ concerti I've posted in the last week- this one is a bit more modern, but very approachable.  The sound is very good. 

Anyway, Hetu passed away recently, and I thought I'd share a couple of articles I've found on him.


Jacques Hétu: The Joy of Composing
by René Champigny / July 1, 2008

Jacques Hétu celebrates his 70th birthday this year, and soon, the 50th anniversary of an impressive career as a composer.

Jacques Hétu is visibly happy, considering himself privileged to live in the Laurentians, "in the middle of the forest, lakes, flowers, deer, and the singing of birds." His happiness is connected to his forties: "That period, for me, was the most remarkable and memorable, to the point where I always feel like I'm 40. It had to do, of course, with meeting my partner, Jeanne Desaulniers, and our return to the city in the whirlwind of our small family, teaching at UQAM (the University of Québec at Montréal), important commissions – basically, life in Montreal. For me, happiness increases according to how well suited the environment is to the accomplishing a work. This is true for me. As the years passed – without calming down, because I always was calm – I have become less anxious, more serene, and even freer to express through music what I had to say . . .. My only worry is sometimes realizing how quickly time passes."

But happiness isn't always in the cards. At the age of five, after a "bright" period in his childhood, Hétu's parents sent him to boarding school. This was in 1943, in the middle of the war, and no one could see an end to it. His father, a military doctor, was caught up in the turmoil: "The break was violent. Luckily, when I was fifteen, I discovered music and the ability to express myself through sound. I dropped out of college shortly thereafter, with a box full of manuscripts. . . I had decided to become a composer and learn all that was necessary to succeed. In that box, there were pieces for the piano, a symphony, a symphonic poem, as well as a draft for an a capella arrangement of Vaisseau d'Or!"

Nelligan's poetry touches him. He isn't indifferent to the poet's pain, which he feels almost as if it were his own. The painful and troubled world of Nelligan inspired Hétu's 1972 composition, Clartés de la nuit for soprano and orchestra and then, in 1982, Abîmes du rêve for bass and orchestra. In 1988, he composed Illusions fanées for an a capella choir, and then in 1991, on the 50th anniversary of the poet's death, Le Tombeau de Nelligan for orchestra. It's "the piece which is most characteristic of my style", says Hétu, a style which he insists is now changing. "The painful and troubled world is no longer a factor in my frame of mind, which is currently directed towards light and serenity. My more recent works are festive and playful. I want to celebrate life more than pain!"

Among Hétu's close friends is Jean Laurendeau, to whom the Concerto for Ondes Martenot and Orchestra is dedicated. It was performed under the direction of Charles Dutoit by the National Orchestra of France in 1995, then at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) two years later. Laurendeau sees in man and musician the meeting of two antagonists of happiness: "As far as Jacques is concerned, joy is always accompanied by a 'but' – unless it is the contrary and incontrovertible sadness in the face of life is always accompanied always with him by a 'but' opening the door to joy. Isn't this ambiguity the source of a great richness in art? Isn't one of the specifics of music in fact to have the ability to say one thing as well as its opposite at the same time?

In his work, Hétu has a serenity, a happiness that he never hesitates to share, as confirmed by organist and composer Rachel Laurin: "He's a very simple man, passionate and generous with his time. I met him at the meetings of the Canadian Music Centre, where he was fumbling for his pipe and not saying much, but was very attentive. He called me in 2000 to ask me to do his Concerto for Organ and Orchestra with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Mario Bernardi. After that, I stayed in touch with him. I sometimes ask him for advice for my own compositions, especially with the orchestration. He's a remarkable orchestrator! Do you know Images of the Revolution?" she asks. Commissioned by the OSM, the 1989 piece commemorates the bicentennial of the French Revolution. Dutoit directed it with the OSM and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Hétu remembers that the piece was born in "a particular exaltation, as the studio was covered with colourful reproductions from that era." Hétu's catalogue now numbers eighteen orchestral works, four of which are symphonies. The Passacaille (1970), Antinomie (1977) and Le Tombeau de Nelligan (1992) are among the most performed. Thus, in 1990, Pinchas Zuckerman included Antinomie and 3rd Symphony in the Ottawa NAC Orchestra program during a tour of Germany, Denmark, and the UK.

After 80 compositions, the composer's production is far from decreasing; rather it tends to be intensifying! Since his retirement from the world of teaching in 2000, Hétu has devoted himself entirely to composing. And he has to choose among numerous commissions. In May of this year, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Yoav Talmi, created Legends, a folkloric work commemorating the city's 400th anniversary. Next September, the Trois-Rivières Symphony Orchestra will perform Sur les Rives du Saint-Maurice. And in May 2009, there will be an OSM tour with Variations on a Mozart Theme for three Pianos and Orchestra, his 20th concerto! Clearly, this composer is never idle. An imposing piece for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra was even announced for February 2010. We look forward to it!

The Language of Hétu: Independence and Expression

"What I like about him is that he has this sort of musical independence. He's always been free of influence. He's never been tied to an avant-garde movement. He's stayed true to himself throughout the years. He's the most personal Canadian composer," Victor Bouchard declares. In 1962, while a student at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with Henri Dutilleux, Hétu wrote his Sonata for two Pianos, as a duet for Victor Bouchard and René Morisset, a sonata that the duo played on several European stages as well as in New York, at Carnegie Hall, the following year. With this sonata, the composer passed the final examinations at the school and obtained his Diploma of Excellence.

After studying at the Montreal Music Conservatory with Clermont Pépin from 1956 to 1961, Hétu avidly took in the artistic richness offered in the French capital. "It was the great number and frequency of concerts in Paris which enriched me the most. Leaving the musical desert of Montreal in the fifties was a delightful and exciting shock," he emphasizes. But this quest left no space for musical dogma. "You already know your calling," Dutilleux told him. So, the young composer had already found his path in life and had placed himself in the margin of the currents.

The analysis of the language of Hétu shows evidence of great stability. Since his start, the composer has used the octatonic scale (eight notes alternating between tones and semi-tones within an octave). Is this evidence of the influence of Messiaen, a composer Hétu studied in his music analysis courses at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris from 1962-63? Yes and no. The scale that Messiaen designed as his "second mode of limited transposition" had been used before, notably by Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky. And Messiaen rarely uses just one mode at a time; he amalgamates two or three. With his 1964 piece Variations for Piano, Hétu made a brief foray into the world of twelve-tone music. But the twelve-tone series that he invented is composed of two octatonic hexachords! Through the exploration of various writing techniques, the young composer had, as he puts it, "his first experiences with the octatonic scale."

Throughout his long career, Hétu remained independent. Resorting to one writing technique free of any ties, however, meant excommunication by a certain society. "During the seventies, the Montreal musical atmosphere had ostracized me." The supporters of the serial technique notably kept him outside the circle of "contemporary" music concerts. But Hétu resisted. His music was circulated, little by little, from one end of the country to the other. Instrumentalists took interest in him and filled his little black book with commissions. "I handled the ostracism thanks to performers who played my music or commissioned works from me. And the situation is still the same to this day, the only difference being that there are many more performers and much less ostracism!" To prove it, there are twenty concertos at present that have unflagging support from performers.

However, the commission of a work is often an arduous enterprise, as percussionist Marie-Josée Simard will tell you. "Commissioning a concerto of a composer is quite laborious. Finding an orchestra that will interpret the work is difficult enough but it is even more so for a percussionist, marimbist/vibraphonist. I believe it takes four years to 'create' a Hétu concerto, what with the money, the writing of the concerto, and its performance." Despite these difficulties, Hétu never ceases to receive commissions. Both substantial and accessible, his works touch numerous musicians and music lovers. Musical organizations have no problem turning to him; they are certain never to receive a profuse work or a big blank sheet with a red dot in the middle, the product of "arduous thinking".

Hétu's language puts to use a new kind of tonality that is not founded on traditional diatonic scales. During his serial experiences, Hétu noticed that his series always have a magnetic note, a "keynote" which governs it all. "So I rapidly detached myself from the stranglehold of the serial to get back to tonal, modal, and chromatic freedom." This attraction of a note manifests itself today across a composite language largely branded by octatonicism, but also by chromaticism, a language where melodic units play a fundamental role. Therefore, Hétu's music establishes a new hierarchy between sounds, a tonal predominance in a mixed language. It's one of the most important characteristics of his language. It's as if the composer demonstrated to us, through his music, that there is always somewhere a natural attraction, a gravity, a pole, regardless of the planet where our aspirations and dreams may lead us.

If Hétu likes Schubert, notably his 8th Symphony, he admires Berg just as much – particularly for his lyricism. And it's in melody that Hétu's own inspiration is born. It is the colliding musical cells that, in him, give birth to new melodies. All is pretext in the melodic interactions between voices. Robert Cram, to whom the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1991) is dedicated, claims that Hétu's music becomes more and more lucid with time: "When you observe his development, from the very austere and demanding music of his youth up to the voluptuously mixed bittersweet chords which characterize his music today, you hear a clarification, a rejection of intellectual and ideological concepts for creating music which, even if it is not at all simple, nevertheless directly touches the heart as well as the mind." Simply put, expression dominates, touching both the performer and the listener. 
[Translation: Rebecca Anne Clark]

One a less serene note, an obit:

Wednesday, 10 February, 2010
Composer Jacques Hétu passes away at 71
By Crystal Chan

The prolific Canadian composer Jacques Hétu passed away yesterday from cancer. He was 71. Just several days ago on January 31, Hétu received the Opus lifetime achievement award from the Conseil québécois de la musique. Hétu has also been named an Officer of the Order of Canada and of the Order of Quebec as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

The composer took a brave path in his time, melding the Romantic and the Contemporary and first and foremost creating accessible works. His over 80 works have brought New Music far beyond the isolation of the avant-garde community. His works have ranged from symphonies to film music and have been played by such ensembles as the New York Philharmonic and such soloists as Glenn Gould.

[jowcol]

Nikolai Korndorff: Sempre Tutti



BBC Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Lazarev, Conductor
19 November, 1992
Radio Broadcast

1: Intro
2. Sempre Tutti

From the collection of Karl Miller


It seems like a lot of our Canadians were born somewhere else-- Korndorf was originally Russian, but emigrated to Canada.   This is a longer "spiritual" work with a sustained drone-- I liked it, and found it pretty accessible.  He seems like he was a fascinating character.  I'd like to hear more of his work, and I'm sorry he left us at such an early age.  Here are a couple of clippings.

BRIEF STATEMENT ABOUT MY WORK
    I belong to the direction in Russian music which, independently of the composer's style, usually turns to very serious subjects:  philosophical, religious, moral, problems of spiritual life of a person, one's relationship with the external world, the problem of the relationship between beauty and reality, as well as the relationship of the spiritual and the anti-spiritual.  All this means that most of my works were not written for fun and that then can in no way be classified as entertainment.  As much as possible, I strive to ensure that every one of my works contains a message to each listener and that my music leaves no one indifferent but arouses an emotional response in them. I even accept that sometimes my music arouses negative emotions - as long as it is not indifference.

     I compose various types of music:  the dramatic and lyric, the ecstatic and calm, the humorous and tragic.  Everything depends on the aim of the specific piece.  Some of my pieces are composed using contrasting material, the others (without contrasting material) emphasizing a single emotional state.  I strive to make my music have many interpretations rather that one meaning.  This difference of character produces a multi-layered complexity and a polyphony of texture in whatever instrumentation I use.

     Most of my pieces last from 20 to 40 minutes. A prolonged dynamic, a large culmination and an attempt to create monumentalism and sound color are typical of my music.  Often the form of a piece represents a dynamic wave or a set of such waves.  In my music, I employ different types of contemporary composing techniques; I  also attempt to synthesize elements of different styles and trends, sometimes opposite to each other.  I do this because I believe that our time is the time of synthesis and that all the treasures accumulated during the centuries of musical cultural existence should be used.  That is why my music reflects medieval chorale, elements of modern rock music, folk music and underground music.  It also  contains elements of romantic music, European vanguard music, and American minimalism.   I seek to use and work out all of these elements, however, in my own way.

     I work in various genre but mainly in symphonic and chamber music, using both traditional tendencies (for example:  Symphonies # 1, 2, 3 and 4, opera MR  ("Marina and Rainer"), brass-quintet and string trio) and nontraditional tendencies. In symphonic pieces, I prefer to use a large instrumentation that enables me to create an extended sound, rich in volume. In chamber music, I frequently employ nontraditional instrumentation (for example, Confessiones, Amoroso, Primitive Music, Movements, Let the Earth Bring Forth, Get Out!!!).  I repeatedly return with special interest to the genre of the instrumental theater, where the performers and even the instruments are the characters (Yes!!, "...si muove", The Dance in Metal in Honour of John Cage, Merry Music for Very Nice People).  I also use the traits of an instrumental theater (dance and movements of the performers on stage or in the auditorium) in some of my chamber pieces (Confessiones, Primitive music, Mozart-variationen, Get Out!!!).  Sometimes I combine live and recorded sound   (Singing, Yarilo, Movements).  I like to use the performers in unconventional ways: instrumentalists as singers, singers as instrumental performers, the conductor, too, as an  instrumental performer (Yes!!, Victor, string Quartet, Welcome, Amoroso, Music for Owen Underhill and His Magnificent Eight).  Although I seek to solve a different problem in each new work, and not to repeat myself, there is, of course, inheritance   in some of my works (Prologue and Epilogue).  Other works represent a different approach as to the same musical material (Hymns I, II and III).  Some pieces are written in two versions, each  for a different instrumentation (Welcome! for chorus and for 6 performers, Lullaby as a version of Con Sordino).


From the "Gone, but not Forgotten" website:


Gone but not Forgotten is an occasional series featuring musicians from yesterday who deserve more attention today. In this installment: composer, conductor, musicologist and educator, Nikolai Korndorf.
Nikolai Korndorf was a gifted composer known for his brilliant orchestrations and encyclopedic knowledge of standard classical repertoire. His scores continue to be performed by major orchestras around the world, and his reputation for almost super-human musical feats is now legendary.

Korndorf could play any piece of standard classical repertoire at the piano from memory. He could also instantly transpose enormously difficult orchestral scores, such as the Miraculous Mandarin, at tempo, during composition lessons – to the amazement of his students. These were more than parlour tricks. Korndorf's demonstrations had real pedagogical value, and his colleagues and devoted students were left enlightened and slack jawed by his pyrotechnical displays.

From Russia to Canada
Korndorf was born in Moscow in 1947 and studied at the famed Moscow Conservatory, where he eventually became a professor of composition. He was a co-founder of the New ACM, an association of leading Soviet composers that included Alfred Schnittke and Sofia Gubaidulina. In 1991, in the midst of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Korndorf and his family left Moscow for Canada, landing in the quiet suburban community of Burnaby, B.C. From his new home base just outside Vancouver, Korndorf gingerly assimilated himself into Canadian society and began to create bonds with like-minded musicians who, at first, didn't know quite what to make of the soft-spoken, big bear of a man.

Composer Keith Hamel describes his first exposure to the enigmatic Russian genius at the Canadian Music Centre, where they were both perusing scores. "When I met Nikolai at the CMC office I was immediately impressed by his phenomenal knowledge of music," says Hamel. "He was very shy and, as I discovered, inclined to stay in the shadows. So, to draw him out, I invited him to audit a computer music class at the UBC School of Music and he accepted."

The real Korndorf emerges from the shadows
Capilano University music professor Bradshaw Pack was in that same computer music class, and describes the behavior of the odd interloper: "Nikolai was older than the other students, and never really said anything. We were all trying to figure out this computer equipment and not doing very well. But before long Nikolai discovered how to make this unbelievable sound that seemed like it would shake the whole building down."

"One day we noticed Nikolai was missing from class and we learned that he was in London recording a CD of his orchestral music with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for Sony Records," continues Pack. "That's when we realized what a heavy guy he was."

That CD, A New Heaven, drew comparisons to the music of Henryk Górecki and Arvo Pärt. It also led to a commission from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra that, in the end, didn't meet expectations for either the orchestra or Korndorf.

"The VSO thought they were getting a piece like Hymn 2 and 3 [from A New Heaven]," Pack explains, "but instead they got a very aggressively scored piece called Get Out in which the players and conductor engage in a fight that ends with the conductor tearing the score to bits and storming off stage. The piece was never performed."

The simple beauty of Maud Lewis inspires Korndorf
Fortunately, there are other instances of orchestral commissions with happier outcomes. Pianist Anna Levy, a close friend of Korndorf's, witnessed the creation of one of his most compelling works, a gentle homage to the Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis. Levy describes the genesis of this work, saying, "Nikolai had just returned from an exhibit of the paintings of Maud Lewis. His eyes were wide open and he was saying 'I can't believe it, I can't believe it! This artist, Maud Lewis, suffered so much pain and lived in poverty but created such beautiful, simple art. And her smile, I'll never forget the purity and innocence of her smile!'"

Korndorf's legacy
The Smile of Maud Lewis has never been commercially released, like so many of Korndorf's other works. In fact, much of the composer's music has never even been performed. But that may change if interest in his music continues at pace. Several books and academic papers on Korndorf are now underway, in both Canada and Russia. A new CD of cello compositions is due out later this month, and a cello concerto is scheduled for performance on June 7 in St. Petersburg with Alexander Ivashkin as the soloist with the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev.

Korndorf died suddenly at the age of 54 in 2001 while playing soccer on a local pitch. His friends and family were devastated by the loss. Former student Brent Lee created a festival in Korndorf's honour in Windsor in 2006.  Others wrote pieces as tributes: Jocelyn Morlock composed half-light, somnolent rains and Hamel produced Kolokolchiki.

It's clear that this gentle giant of a man, who made such an impact during his time here, will not soon be forgotten. 

[Dundonnell]

Thank you very much for the Korndorff

I downloaded both your recent offerings (as always ). I must admit not to be taken by the Falabella at all but when I started to sample the Korndorff I was riveted Just exactly my sort of grand, moumental modern orchestral music

[jowcol]

Music of Claude Champagne:

Claude Champagne (left) and Wilfrid Pelletier, 1943

Quartet in C-Major
Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF) String Quartet
Radio Broadcast,  no date

Altitude
Choeur + Orch Radio Canada- C. Houdret
Radio broadcast, no date.

From the collection of Karl Miller

It seems that the only Canadians we have here come from Karl's collection!

I particularly like the second work-- it reminds me of a somewhat more modern version of Hanson's Lament for Beowulf-- but your mileage may very.

Wikipedia Bio:

Claude Champagne (27 May 1891 – 21 December 1965) was a Canadian composer.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, he studied violin with Albert Chamberland, organ with Orpha-F. Deveaux, and piano with Romain-Octave Pelletier I and Alexis Contant at the Conservatoire national de musique. In 1921 he went straight to Paris to study music. By then he was drawn into modality, which stayed with him the rest of his life. At his return to Canada he became heavily involved with teaching, notably playing an instrumental role in establishing the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Québec in 1942. In 1943 he was appointed the first assistant director of the Montreal Conservatoire. He was attached to the Montreal Catholic School Commission as co-ordinator of solfége in elementary schools, and he was at the same time professor at the McGill Conservatory. After that he mainly taught many of the country's most promising composers. He died in Montreal in 1965.

His notable students included Jocelyne Binet, Lydia Boucher, François Brassard, Isabelle Delorme, Jean Deslauriers, Orpha-F. Deveaux, Roger Matton, Pierre Mercure, François Morel, Clermont Pépin, Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux, Georges Savaria, Robert Turner, and Jean Vallerand.

[jowcol]

Requiem for the Victims of a War Torn World(2002) by Malcolm Forsyth


World Premiere
Edmunton Symphony Orchestra
Grezegorz Nowak, Cond.
Radio Broadcast, 2002
Also features interview with composer.

From the collection of Karl Miller

Wikipedia Bio:
Malcolm Forsyth
Born   December 8, 1936
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Died   July 5, 2011 (aged 74)
Edmonton, Alberta


Malcolm Forsyth, CM (December 8, 1936 – July 5, 2011) was a South African and Canadian trombonist and composer. His daughter is National Arts Centre Orchestra cellist Amanda Forsyth.

Composers Allan Gilliland, Malcolm Forsyth, Alan Gordon Bell, John Estacio, and Jeffrey McCune following the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra's performance of their music in April 2005

Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Forsyth studied trombone, conducting and composition at the University of Cape Town and received a Bachelor of Music in 1963.

He played trombone with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra while studying and receiving his Master of Music in 1966 and Doctorate of Music in 1969. In 1968, he emigrated to Canada and joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra with which he played bass trombone for 11 years. He also taught at the University of Alberta and in 1996 was appointed Composer-in-Residence. He retired in 2002.

In 1970, he wrote Sketches from Natal for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Some of his other works include Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1979), Sagittarius (1975), Quinquefid (1976), African Ode (Symphony No. 3) (1981), and Atayoskewin (Suite for Orchestra) (1984), which won the Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year in 1987.

Obit from CBC News:
Composer Malcolm Forsyth dies at 74
CBC News

Malcolm Forsyth received the Order of Canada from former governor general Adrienne Clarkson in 2003. The South African-born, Canadian composer died on Tuesday at the age of 74. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
      
Celebrated Canadian composer Malcolm Forsyth, whose orchestral, choral and chamber music creations have been performed around the globe, has died at the age of 74.

The award-winning, Edmonton-based musician died Tuesday morning. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October.

A prolific, popular composer, Forsyth's music has been widely performed nationally and internationally, having received commissions from the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canadian Brass, the Natal Philharmonic, artists such as Maureen Forrester and Judith Forst and the symphony orchestras of Montreal, Cape Town and Edmonton — where he spent 11 years playing trombone.

'I'm never more happy than when I can be transported by a performer or performance. Everything I've done is with that experience in mind.'—Malcolm Forsyth
For Forsyth, creating accessible work was of utmost importance.

"I always have had a sense of responsibility to the audience, coming from a deep sense of belief. I am myself a dedicated audience member, dedicated to the idea of concert music that does sweep people away," he said in a statement posted on his website.

"I'm never more happy than when I can be transported by a performer or performance. Everything I've done is with that experience in mind: Changing the space that the audience sits in for those brief few moments."

A new life in Canada
Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Forsyth studied trombone, conducting and composition at the University of Cape Town. After graduating, he played trombone with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, taught music and wrote orchestrations for the South African Broadcasting Corporation while pursuing masters and doctorate degrees.

In 1968, he emigrated to Canada, stopping in Toronto before moving into a job teaching trombone, theory and composition at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He would remain on its faculty until his retirement in 2002

[kyjo]

I've always found it strange that while Canada is such a huge and developed country (not the northern part, of course ), there aren't ANY well-known composers there! Canada must not do too much to promote their composers; I guess they are too focused on hockey ! And why Andre Mathieu isn't better known (although the pianist Alain Lefevre did a great deal to promote him), I have no idea! I suppose the classical music situation is even worse in Canada than it is in the US! No, I don't want to start that topic again ! Anyway, thank you, jowcol, for the uploads. With your contributions we should be able to get a wider view of the scandalously neglected music of this country. O Canada, why do your composers remain so unsung ?

[eschiss1]

well... there used to be an (unofficial?) Canadian record label policy of including some Canadian music on most recordings, I seem to recall (there's nothing like that in the United States, where very few recordings include any music written in the USA or by composers born here, by contrast.) Canadian composers (some of them emigrés-to, some immigrants from) like- for example- Lavallée, Mozetich, Mazurette, Branscombe, Samuel Prowse Warren, Healey Willan, Srul Irving Glick, and Talivaldis Kenins are relatively and increasingly familiar not so much to the general classical-fan public, true, but to people on this forum, or IMSLP regulars, or BBC regular listeners, or etc. ...
And while in my opinion some fine Canada-based conductors (Georg Tintner comes immediately to mind) will always be missed, there still seems to be, from what I can tell, a very good music-performance scene on the Canadian side of our border...

[jowcol]

Colin McPhee is one of my very favorite composers... Canadian and worldwide..

[Alan Howe]

And why Andre Mathieu isn't better known (although the pianist Alain Lefevre did a great deal to promote him), I have no idea!

Perhaps because it's rather too derivative to be taken seriously?

[kyjo]

Exactly, Alan. I love Mathieu's music so much, I just didn't want to admit it was so derivative !

[Alan Howe]

Thought you said you had no idea...