Otto Joachim, CQ (October 13, 1910 – July 30, 2010) was a German-born Canadian

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

and

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 ...

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

Early life and education

Joachim was born in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Joachim to Jewish parents. His father was an opera singer. He trained as a violinist at Düsseldorf and at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne.

Career

In 1934 Joachim left Nazi Germany (as did many Jewish composers of his time). He played in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

during the war years, opened a radio shop, and experimented with electronic instruments and accessories. He also performed occasionally in the Shanghai Municipal Symphony Orchestra and organized an orchestra to perform Jewish and other Western music. Joachim left Shanghai at the time of the Communist takeover of China, and settled permanently 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 ...

in 1949. For the next 15 years Joachim worked as a player, teacher, instrument builder and composer. He played in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and beginning in 1956 taught violin and viola at both the McGill Conservatory and at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. In the 1950s Joachim experimented with twelve-tone music, and in 1956 composed ''String Quartet'', an instrumental piece which combined twelve tone music with more traditional classical techniques. In 1958 he founded the Montreal Consort of Ancient Instruments, and directed it for ten years. Since the 1960s he has concentrated on his compositions which are a mix of

aleatoric Aleatoricism or aleatorism, the noun associated with the adjectival aleatory and aleatoric, is a term popularised by the musical composer Pierre Boulez, but also Witold Lutosławski and Franco Evangelisti, for compositions resulting from "action ...

and electroacoustic works. He composed a multi-channel electroacoustic work for the

Canadian Pavilion The Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal featured an inverted pyramid structure as well as a walk through an attraction called the "People Tree." The pavilion had its highest single-day attendance on Canada Day (July 1), 1967. The pavilion's ...

, Katimavik at Expo 67 in Montreal. It was in the late-1970s that Joachim took up painting and sculpture. In 1994, he received an honorary doctorate from Concordia University, Montreal. The multi-channel electroacoustic studio in the Department of Music at Concordia University is named "The Otto Joachim Project Studio", where one of his paintings hangs. In 1986 he was named an Honorary Member of the

Canadian Electroacoustic Community Founded in 1986, La Communauté électroacoustique canadienne / The Canadian Electroacoustic Community (CEC) is Canada's national electroacoustic / computer music / sonic arts organization and is dedicated to promoting this progressive art form i ...

, and in 1993, 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 ...

. In 2007 Joachim was presented with an Opus Tribute Award by the Conseil québécois de la musique. He died on July 30, 2010, in

. Joachim died in 2010."He Pushed the Boundaries of Canadian Music"
''National Post'', Aug 5, 2010 -

Selected works

* ''Concertante'' for violin, string orchestra and percussion (1960) * ''Contrastes'' for orchestra (1968) * ''Dialogue'' for viola and piano (1964) * ''Expansion'' for flute and piano (1967) * ''Music for Violin and Viola'' (1953) * Nonet (1960) * ''Paean'' for cello (1985) * ''Petite œuvre'' for flute, viola and cello (2000) * ''Quatro intermezzi'' for flute and guitar (1981) * ''Requiem'' for violin, or viola, or cello solo (1976) * ''Requiem in Memoriam Serge Garant'' for guitar solo (1976, 1986) * String Quartet (1960) * ''Twelve 12-Tone Pieces for Children'' for piano solo (1961)

Awards

*1969 - Grand Prix Paul-Gilson *1990 -

Prix Calixa-Lavallée Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

of the

Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...

*1993 - ''Chevalier'' of the

Ordre national du Québec 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 Gov ...

*2008 - ''Tribute Prize'' of the Conseil québécois de la musique

References

External links

Otto Joachim at the Canadian Music Centre

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joachim, Otto 1910 births 2010 deaths Canadian male composers Canadian classical violists Canadian people of German-Jewish descent Electroacoustic music composers Knights of the National Order of Quebec Composers awarded knighthoods Musicians awarded knighthoods Jewish Canadian musicians Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany German expatriates in China Musicians from Düsseldorf 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians German emigrants to Canada 20th-century violists Academic staff of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal