Oskar Morawetz

Czechoslovakiam-born Oskar Morawetz was a Canadian composer, pianist and music teacher, who studied in Praha and Wien (Vienna). At an early age, he developed an ability to sight-read orchestral scores at the piano, and at age 19 he was recommended by George Szell for the assistant conductor’s post with the Praha Opera. After the Nazi invasion of the Sudetenland in 1938, Morawetz applied for a Canadian visa, which was granted after several refusals. After brief periods of residence in Wien and Paris, he left just ahead of Nazi invading forces, fleeing Europe and arriving in Toronto in June 1940.

Morawetz taught music theory and composition in 1946-52 at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and from 1952 until his retirement in 1982 at the University of Toronto. Morawetz performed on the piano frequently after his arrival in Canada, but the number of his performances diminished as his composition career grew. His œuvre extended over a wide range including 120 compositions, although the core of his work was his orchestral compositions. The only major form he did not undertake during his career was opera. Morawetz was one of the most popular Canadian composers and was awarded the “Order of Ontario” and the “Order of Canada” in 1987 and 1989, respectively.

In 1948, he submitted one work in the Olympic art competitions in the orchestra category. In many (Olympic) sources listed as Festival Overture it is most probably Morawetz’ Carnival Overture. The almost 6-minute long piece, his opus 2, was composed in 1946 (revised in 1970).