Richard Hunt (1930 – December 8, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

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 ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

birth. He is best known for his work with the Montreal ensemble Quartango.

Early life and education

Hunt was born in Great Britain. He was trained as a pianist at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and at

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 ...

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 ...

where he was a pupil of

István Anhalt István Anhalt, (April 12, 1919 – February 24, 2012) was a Hungarian-Canadian composer. Anhalt served as a professor of music at McGill University and founded the McGill University Electronic Music Studio. He also served as head of music at ...

Bengt Hambraeus Bengt Hambraeus ( Stockholm, Sweden, January 29, 1928 – Glen Roy, Ontario, (in Glengarry County), near Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 21, 2000) was a Swedish-Canadian organist, composer and musicologist. Biography Hambreaus studied organ ...

and

Bruce Mather Bruce Mather (born May 9, 1939) is a Canadians, Canadian composer, pianist, and writer who is particularly known for his contributions to contemporary classical music. One of the most notable composers of microtonal music, he was awarded the Jule ...

Career

As a soloist Hunt performed in concert with several notable ensembles in Canada, including 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 ...

and the

Quebec Contemporary Music Society The Quebec Contemporary Music Society, or Société de musique contemporaine du Québec in French (SMCQ), is a contemporary classical-music organization based in Montreal, Quebec. It was founded in 1966 by Montreal composers and musicians, includin ...

. He is a former faculty member of McGill University. In 1983 Hunt became a founding member of the

chamber ensemble Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

Quartango"Quartango: The musical bridge between two port cities"
''Montreal Times'', November 3, 2013. by Sergio Martinez with whom he performed on the piano, made several commercial recordings and composed and arranged more than 100 works. He remained with the group until shortly before his death in 2011.

Selected compositions

* "Merkabah" (1973)Maurice Hinson.
Music for More than One Piano: An Annotated Guide
'. Indiana University Press; 9 July 2001. . p. 94. * “Milonga Céltica"

Recordings

*''El Fuego'' (2009) with Quartango"Quartango: un quart de siècle de feu et d'élégance"
''Le Devoir'', October 7, 2009, Yves Bernard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Richard 1930 births 2011 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Canadian composers Canadian male composers McGill University School of Music alumni Academic staff of McGill University 20th-century Canadian pianists Canadian male pianists 20th-century Canadian male musicians