Bruce Mather was born in Toronto in 1939, but has lived in Montréal since 1966 and is considered one of the most remarkable Quebec composers. He studied piano with Alberto Guerrero and composition with Oskar Morawetz, Godfrey Ridout and John Weinzweig at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto as well as at the faculty of music of the University of Toronto where he received his Bachelor’s in 1959. His graduate studies took him to France where he worked with Darius Milhaud (composition), whom he had met at a summer course in aspen, and Olivier Messiaen (analysis). Bruce Mather completed his Master’s at the University of Stanford with Leland Smith, and his doctorate at the University of Toronto in 1967. Professor of composition, analysis and harmony at McGill University since 1966, he has directed the Ensemble de musique contemporaine there since 1981. As a pianist, Mather often performs contemporary music and he has given numerous recitals in the company of his spouse, pianist Pierette LePage, with whom he forms the Mather/LePage duo.
Translation: Oliver Haeffeley [iii-13]