Morawetz works often performed
OSKAR MORAWETZ's From the Diary of Ann Frank was featured in three concerts in three cities in April: Lois Marshall and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra performed the work at Massey Hall, Toronto, and during the pre-concert talk given by the composer, MORAWETZ asked Victor Kugler, who was in the audience, to come on stage and address the audience. Mr. Kugler hid the Frank family for two years in Amsterdam.
From the Diary was performed at the Kennedy Arts Centre in Washington and at Carnegie Hall in New York, again by Lois Marshall and the TSO. The performance made "a striking impression," according to New Yorker critic Winthrop Sargeant, who went on to say in his review in the April 22nd New Yorker: "Mr. MORAWETZ's music is atonal for the most part. Perhaps this is the one type of music suited to such a subject, as the diary is, in a sense, beyond tragedy. At any rate, Mr. MORAWETZ's way of using atonality is deft indeed. and the vocal line is beautifully laid out. Moreover, Mr. MORAWETZ is a master of orchestration, and his treatment of the underlying orchestral fabric is highly original."
Two other works by OSKAR MORAWETZ were premiered in April: Psalm for String Orchestra, commissioned by ALEXANDER BROTT for the McGill Chamber Orchestra through a Canada Council Grant, was performed by that orchestra and conducted by ALEXANDER BROTT on April 24. Who Has Allowed Us to Suffer so Terribly Up 'Til Now, an a cappella work for mixed choir
dedicated to Anne Frank's father, was given its first public performance at Mount Sinai Synagogue in Toronto conducted by BEN STEINBERG. A third world premiere will take place in July when The World of a Child is performed by Maureen Forrester.
Many other works by MORAWETZ have been performed since January. Louis Quilico included The Chimney Sweeper in his New York recital; the Concerto for Brass Quintet and Orchestra was performed by the Canadian Brass and the Hamilton Philharmonic under the baton of Piero Gamba; Overture to a Fairy Tale was on a National Arts Centre orchestra program; Sinfonietta for Winds and Percussion was performed by the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra; the Carnival Overture had nine performances during the season at Victoria, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Halifax, conducted by Walter Susskind, Laszlo Gatti, KLARO MIZERIT, BORIS BROTT and Brian Priestman. And finally, MORAWETZ's Scherzo for Piano was released on a CBC recording with Sheila Henig.
All of which adds up to a very good season for OSKAR
MORAWETZ.
