Ezra Schabas – författare

As a conductor, organist, pianist, composer, educator, writer, administrator, and musical statesman, Sir Ernest MacMillan stands as a towering figure in Canada's musical history. His role in the development of music in Canada from the beginning of this century to 1970 was pivotal. He conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for twenty-five years, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir for fifteen . He was principal of the Toronto (now Royal) Conservatory of Music and dean of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music. He founded the Canadian Music Council, and the Canadian Music Centre, and was a founding member of the Canada Council. He was also the first president of the Composers, Authors, and Publishers Association of Canada (CAPAC).Ezra Schabas provides not only the first detailed biography of MacMillan, but also a frank, richly detailed and handsomely illustrated account of the Canadian music scene. He tells of MacMillan's rise in Canada, from his early years as a church organist to his international successes as a guest conductor; from his internment in a German prison camp to the knighthood conferred on him by King George V. As Robertson Davies said of MacMillan, 'It is on the achievements of such men that the culture of a country rests. Their work is not education, but revelation, and there is always about it something of prophetic splendour.'

The Royal Conservatory of Music, founded in 1886, is rich in history and genius. Its long tradition of excellence in musical training and examining places it among the leading music schools of the world. Glenn Gould, Lois Marshall, Teresa Stratas, Jon Vickers, Mario Bernardi, and many other international artists have studied there. Amply illustrated, with over forty photographs dating back to the school’s first years, this book is an unvarnished account of its controversial leaders, its successes and failures, its encounters with the musical and academic world, and its passions. In this smoothly paced narrative, your favourite musicians, teachers, and examiners will come to life to revive your memories.