Alexander Brott, , born Joël Brod (March 14, 1915April 1, 2005),"Musician Alexander Brott dies"
''CBC News'', Apr 04, 2005 was a Canadian conductor,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist and music teacher.

Early life and education

Brott was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec. He earned degrees from the

Schulich School of Music The Schulich School of Music (also known as Schulich) is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 555, rue Sherbrooke Ouest (555, Sherbrooke Street West). The faculty was named after benef ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

. Among his teachers were

Albert Chamberland Albert Chamberland (12 October 1886 – 4 April 1975) was a Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, music producer, and music educator. As a violinist he performed as a chamber musician with a number of ensembles, including the Beethove ...

and Alfred Whitehead.

Career

Brott began his career as a concert violinist in the 1930s. He joined the faculty at McGill University in 1939, where he taught orchestration and music history. He founded and directed the McGill Chamber Orchestra. His work was also part of the music event in the art competition at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. Brott was leader of the

Montreal Orchestra The Montreal Orchestra (MO) was a professional Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec that was active from 1930–1941. While not Montreal's first orchestra, the MO is considered by music historians to be the first professional sympho ...

, Les Concerts symphoniques de Montréal and the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orche ...

from 1945 to 1958. In 1939, he joined the Faculty of Music at

, where he remained until 1980. He was also the founder and musical director of the McGill Chamber Orchestra. He also conducted the

Kingston Symphony The Kingston Symphony (KS) is a Canadian orchestra based in Kingston, Ontario. Since 2014 the principal conductor of the symphony has been Evan Mitchell. The ensemble performs most of its concerts at The Grand Theatre.

from 1965 to 1981. In 1967, he conducted the McGill Chamber Orchestra at the official opening of the Centennial Theatre at

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...

in Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada. In 1979 he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and in 1988 he was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...

. He retired from his position as professor and head of the department of orchestral instruments at McGill in 1980. His memoirs, ''Alexander Brott: My Lives in Music'' (with co-writer Betty Nygaard King), were published by Mosaic Press in 2005. He died in Montreal in 2005 at the age of 90. That year an album of recordings of his compositions, including his 1950 "Violin Concerto" and 1957 "Arabesque for cello and orchestra", with soloists Angèle Dubeau and Denis Brott. Also included were "Seven Minuets and Six Canons" (1971) and "Paraphrase in Polyphony" (1967).

Personal life

Brott's wife Lotte was an accomplished

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

. Their sons are

Boris Brott Boris Brott, (March 14, 1944 – April 5, 2022) was a Canadian conductor and motivational speaker. He was one of the most internationally recognized Canadian conductors, having conducted on stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall and ...

, a conductor, and

Denis Brott Denis Brott , SMOM (born December 9, 1950) is a Canadian cellist, music teacher, conductor and founder and artistic director of thMontreal Chamber Music Festival

, a cellist and conductor.

Compositions

Among Brott's compositions include: * ''4 Squares'' * ''Arabesque'' (1957) for cello and orchestra * ''Circle'' * ''Paraphrase in Polyphony'' * ''Psalmody'' for unaccompanied cello * ''Seven Minuets and Six Canons'' (1971) * ''Songs of Contemplation'' (1976), four settings for soprano and orchestra * Violin Concerto (1950)

Publications

*Alexander Brott: My Lives in Music. By Alexander Brott and Betty Nygaard King. Oakville, Ont.: Mosaic Press, 2005. xiii, 228 p., ill. .

References

External links

AlexanderBrott.ca

Alexander Brott
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brott, Alexander 1915 births 2005 deaths Members of the Order of Canada Knights of the National Order of Quebec Composers awarded knighthoods Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods Musicians awarded knighthoods Academic staff of McGill University McGill University School of Music alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Juilliard School alumni 20th-century classical composers Canadian educators Canadian classical composers Male conductors (music) Canadian classical violinists Male classical violinists Musicians from Montreal Canadian male classical composers 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male musicians Olympic competitors in art competitions 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers