Oskar Morawetz
Oskar Morawetz, CM, O.Ont ( born January 17, 1917 in Swietla whether the Sasau, Austria - Hungary, † 13 June 2007 in Toronto ) was a Canadian pianist and composer.
Life
Morawetz was ( from 1918 Czechoslovakia) was born in the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy. He studied in Prague, Vienna and Paris by Jaroslav Křička and piano with Karel Hoffmeister, Julius Isserlis and Lazare Lévy. In 1936, he was brought by George Szell as assistant conductor at the Prague State Opera. After the beginning of World War II he emigrated to Canada in 1940 and studied at the University of Toronto. In 1946 he joined the faculty of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, and in 1952 professor of composition at the University of Toronto. In 1953 he received his doctorate with the Symphony No. 2. Since 1982 he has been Professor Emeritus.
The work of Oskar Morawetz includes more than 120 works for orchestra and chamber ensembles. He became internationally known with the compositions " Memorial to Martin Luther King" (1968), " Carnival Overture" and " Prayer for Freedom" and "From the Diary of Anne Frank" (1970). Under the baton of Zubin Mehta with Anton Kuerti as a soloist in 1963 his Piano Concerto No. 1 was premiered. His works have been presented by artists such as cellist Yo- Yo Ma, pianist Glenn Gould and tenor Ben Heppner.
Morawetz was in 1992 as a pianist his last concert stage. Since 1995, he had not been active for health reasons.
He was twice awarded the Canadian " Juno Award" for classical music. He won numerous awards, including the "Order of Ontario ( O.Ont. ) ", The "Order of Canada (CM )" and the " Golden Jubilee Medal ". For his life's work in 2001 was at the Regent Park School of Music, " Oskar Morawetz Music Scholarship for Piano Study ", in 2004 at the CAMMAC "The Oskar Morawetz Music Library " and 2004 at the Music Faculty of the University of Toronto "The Oskar Morawetz Entrance Scholarship in Music " set.
He was married from 1958 to 1984 with Ruth Spafford Shipman.