Eldon Rathburn

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Eldon Rathburn (born April 21, 1916 in Queenstown / New Brunswick , † August 30, 2008 in Ottawa ) was a Canadian composer, pianist, organist and music teacher, best known as the dean of Canadian film composers .

Rathburn studied piano with Eric Rollinson in Saint John and played in Don Messer at His Islanders as a youth . He then studied music at McGill University and from 1938–39 at the Toronto Conservatory of Music composition with Healey Willan , organ with Charles Peaker and piano with Reginald Godden . In 1939 he returned to Saint John and worked there as a dance musician, church organist and arranger for the radio. With his Symphoniette he won first prize at the Young Artist's Competition in Los Angeles in 1944 . He traveled to the performance of the work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Alfred Wallenstein , where he also met Arnold Schoenberg , who was one of the jurors of the competition.

From 1944 to 1976 Rathburn worked as a composer for the National Film Board of Canada . During this time, he wrote more than 300 film scores for Colin Low's The Romance of Transportation in Canada (1952), Corral (1954) and Circle of the Sun (1961), Tom Daly's Introducing Canada (1956), Wolf Koenig's City of Gold (1957) ), Terence McCartney-Filgates The Back-Breaking Leaf (1958); Norman McLaren's Short and Suite (1959); Roman Kroitors Der Himmel über uns (OT: Universe ) (1959), Hubert Aquins À Saint-Henri le cinq septembre (1962), Don Haldanes Drylanders (1963), Don Owens Nobody Waved Good-bye (1964), Gerald Potterton's The Railrodder (1965, with Buster Keaton ) and Hugh O'Conor's Labyrinth (1967). After this time he composed more than thirty other film scores, including for Allan Kings Who Has Seen the Wind (1977), Donald Brittains Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks (1985), Beavers (1988), The First Emperor of China (1990), The Last Buffalo (1990) and Momentum (1992).

In addition to the film music, Rathburn composed numerous chamber music and orchestral works. A CD with tracks about the railroad was released in 1994 by Crystal Records . Julian Armor , director of the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, performed several of his works in the 1990s . In 1998 he was honored as a member of the Order of Canada .

Works

  • Silhouette for orchestra, 1940
  • Symphonets for orchestra, 1943, 1946
  • Cartoon no. 1 for orchestra, 1944
  • Cartoon no. 2 for orchestra, 1946
  • Suite (Family Circle) for orchestra, 1949
  • Images of Childhood for orchestra, 1950
  • Suite (Children's Concert) for orchestra, 1951
  • Overture to a Hoss Opera for small orchestra, 1952
  • Nocturne for small orchestra, 1953
  • Overture Burlesca for orchestra, 1953
  • Variations and Fugue on Alouette for small orchestra, 1953
  • Milk Maid Polka for orchestra, 1956
  • Gray City for orchestra, 1960
  • City of Gold for orchestra, 1967
  • Aspects of Railroads for orchestra, 1969
  • Steelhenge for steel pand and orchestra, 1974
  • Three Ironies for wind quintet and orchestra, 1975
  • The Train to Mariposa , 1986
  • Light and Shadow for string orchestra, 1995
  • Miniature for wood and brass quartets, 1949
  • Parade for piccolo, woodwind quartet, brass trio and percussion, 1949
  • Pastorella for oboe, string trio and double bass, 1949
  • Waltz for Winds , 1949, 1956
  • Second Waltz for Winds , 1949
  • Conversation for two clarinets, 1956
  • Bout for guitar and double bass, 1971
  • The Metamorphic Ten for accordion, mandolin, najo, guitar, double bass, harp, piano, celesta and three percussionists, 1971
  • Two Interplays for saxophone quartet, 1972
  • The Canadian Brass Rag for wind quintet, 1974
  • The Nomadic Five for wind quintet, 1974
  • Turbo for wind quintet, 1978
  • The Rise and Fall of the Steam Railroad for chamber ensemble, 1982
  • Junction and Prelude and Fugue for Jew's Harps, 1983
  • Trio: Dorian Crossing for clarinet, cello and piano, 1987
  • 2 Railoramas for wind octet , 1990
  • Subway Thoughts for string quartet,
  • Soliloquy for viola solo, 1999
  • Concertino for Banjo and String Quartet , 1999
  • Diabolus in Musica for flute, clarinet, string quartet, double bass and piano, 2007
  • Black and White for piano, 1970
  • Six Railroad Preludes for piano, 1988
  • Schoenberg vs Gershwin: A Tennis Match for piano, 1991; for orchestra, 1997
  • The Iron Horses of Delson for piano, 1992
  • Ghost Train for piano, 1992
  • Of Many People multimedia work, 1970
  • It All Depends , multimedia work, 1974

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personal data
SURNAME Rathburn, Eldon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian composer, pianist, organist and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Queenstown (New Brunswick)
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 2008
Place of death Ottawa