Canadian League of Composers 75th Anniversary: Past Presidents’ Piano Recital celebrates 75 years of Canadian creativity with a solo program curated and performed by composer and pianist John Burge. Featuring works by many of the CLC’s Past Presidents, the recital opens with Beverley McKiver’s Trillium and concludes with a stirring rendition of O Canada.
This 75-minute tribute honours the legacy and leadership of the Canadian League of Composers through music and reflection.
Program
By way of a musical land acknowledgement, this concert begins with TRILLIUM (Ontario’s Provincial Flower), from CANADIAN FLORAL EMBLEMS, by Indigenous-Canadian composer, Beverley McKiver.
John Weinzweig, President Tenure: 1951 – 1957, 1959 – 1963: SWING A FUGUE
Jean Papineau-Couture, 1957 – 1959, 1963 – 1966: RONDO from SUITE No. 1
Srul Irving Glick, 1966 – 1969: PRELUDE No. 1 from FOUR PRELUDES [dedicated to Walter Buczynski]
Samuel Dolin, 1969 – 1973: PRELUDE FOR JOHN WEINZWEIG
Talivaldis Kenins, 1973 – 1974: THE MERRY REEL from LATVIAN DANCE No. 2 – THE MERRY REEL
Walter Buczynski, 1974 – 1975: PRELUDE No. 24 from THE AUGUST COLLECTION
Harry Freedman, 1975 – 1978: RENT-A-RAG
Victor Davies, 1979 – 1982: TO LIVIA (BERCEUSE)
Alex Pauk, 1983 – 1989: PHOTOGRAPH from BEYOND [Transcribed for Piano by John Burge]
Patrick Cardy, 1989 – 1992: MOVEMENT 3 from THE MASKS OF ASTARTE
Rodney Sharman, 1993 – 1998: THE ANGLO TANGO
- Intermission -
John Burge, 1998 – 2006: FROM TINY ACORNS [Composed in tribute to the CLC’s 75th Anniversary]
James Rolfe, 2007 – 2011: MOVEMENT 4, “Playfully,” from FOUR ALIBIS
Jennifer Butler, 2011 – 2014: ERASING/ERASED [A new piece composed for John Burge to play on this program]
Brian Harman, 2014 – 2016: INTERLUDE from SEWING THE EARTHWORM
Christopher Reiche Boucher, 2016 – 2020: STILL
Sophie Dupuis, 2020 – 2023: TOCCATA from INVENTION AND TOCCATA
Tyler Versluis, 2023 – present: LEGEND from THREE MELODIES
Segue into O CANADA, composed by Calixa Lavallée