Bruce Mather (composer)

James Bruce Mather (born May 9, 1939 in Toronto , Ontario ) is a Canadian composer .

Mather studied piano from 1952 to 1957 at the Royal Conservatory of Music and then until 1959 at the University of Toronto with Alberto Guerrero , Earle Moss and Alexander Uninsky and music theory and composition with Godfrey Ridout , Oskar Morawetz and John Weinzweig . With a scholarship from the Canada Council he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris until 1961 with Darius Milhaud composition, with Simone Plé-Caussade counterpoint, with Olivier Messiaen analysis and with Lazare Lévy piano . During the Darmstadt summer courses in 1961 he came into contact with Pierre Boulez .

After studying composition at Stanford University with Leland Smith and Roy Harris until 1964, he returned to Canada, where he first taught at the Brodie School of Music and Modern Dance and the University of Toronto and from 1966 to 2001 at McGill University . From 1986 to 1996 he directed a chamber ensemble specializing in contemporary music. 1975–1976 and 1978–1979 he taught as a visiting professor at the Conservatoire de Paris. His students included John Burke , Paul Crawford , Jacques Desjardins , Anthony Genge , Richard Hunt , Denis Lorrain , John Oliver , François Rose , Donald Steven and Alexander Tilley .

Mather began composing in early childhood and received a prize from the Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada (CAPAC) in 1949 . His Cycle Rilke , created during his studies in Paris, was broadcast on French radio. In 1965 the Symphonic Ode , in 1969 Madrigal II and in 1970 the Sonata for two pianos were performed at the International Rostrum of Composers . Under the influence of his friend Ivan Wyschnegradsky , microtonal compositions such as Sassicaia , Poème du délire , Señorio de Sarria and Tempranillo emerged from 1974 .

In 1979 he won the Jules Léger Prize for the first time with Musique pour Champigny , which was awarded again in 1993 for the work Yquem . In 2000 the Émile Nelligan Foundation awarded him the Serge Garant Prize for his life's work .

As a pianist, Fox played several world premieres of contemporary compositions as a soloist or in a duo with his wife Pierrette LePage .

Works

• Two Songs for Bass-Baritone and Orchestra , 1956
• Concerto for piano, wind quintet and string quartet, 1958
• Elegy for Saxophone and Strings , 1959
• The White Goddess , cantata, 1960–62
• Étude for clarinet, 1962
• Orphée (after Paul Valéry ) for soprano, piano and percussion, 1963
• Symphonic Ode (Catromjep) for orchestra, 1964
• Fantasy for piano, 1964
• La lune mince ... for mixed choir, 1965
• Orchestra Piece , 1967
• Madrigal II (by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau ) for soprano, alto, flute, harp and string trio, 1968
• Music for Vancouver for symphony orchestra, 1969
• Sonata for two pianos, 1970
• Musique pour Rouen for string orchestra, 1971
• Madrigal III (by Saint-Denys Garneau) for alto, harp, marimba, and piano, 1971
• Madrigal IV (by Saint-Denys Garneau) for soprano, flute, piano and tape, 1972
• Madrigal V for soprano, alto and chamber orchestra, 1973
• In Memoriam Alexandre Uninsky for piano, 1974
• Au Château de Pompairain for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, 1975
• A little wind music , 1975
• Musique pour Champigny for soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, clarinet, horn, harp, piano and marimba, 1976
• Barolo for cello and tape, 1977
• Clos de Vougeot for four percussionists, 1977
• Régime onze, Type A for two pianos, 1978
• Ausone for flute (2 harps and two guitars), 1979
• Coulée de Serrant for harp and piano, 1980
• Musigny for orchestra, 1980
• Sassicaia for cello and piano, 1981
• Les Grandes fontaines for soprano and piano, 1981
• Gattinara for viola and marimba, 1982
• Six Études for organ, 1982
• Poème du délire for three pianos, 1982
• Elegy for flute, cello, piano and percussion, 1983
• Barbaresco for string trio, 1984
• Clos d'Audignac for marimba and three percussionists, 1984
• Señorio de Sarria for two guitars, 1984
• Un cri qui durerait la mer for mezzo-soprano and piano, 1985
• Vouvray for oboe and harp, 1986
• Viola Duet for two violas, 1987
• Scherzo for orchestra, 1987
• Dialogue for viola, cello and double bass, 1988
• Two Stanford Songs for mixed choir, 1988
• Travaux de nuit for baritone and chamber orchestra, 1989
• Vega Sicilia for guitar, 1989
• Aux victimes de la guerre de Vendée , 1990
• Saumur for harpsichord, 1990
• La princesse blanche , opera, 1994 (WP)
• Advanced Harmony for orchestra, 1995
• D'après un cri for piano, 1996
• Hommage à Carrillo for sixteenth-tone piano, 1996
• Tempranillo for guitar, 1997
• Trio for violin, cello and piano , 2003
• Ardennes for organ, 2003