Book Launch

Join us for the launch of the composer and writer John Beckwith’s 17^th book, Music Annals (edited by Robin Elliott). In this collection of 46 articles written over a period of some 41 years, Beckwith displays insatiable curiosity, sharp critical skills, a gracious literary style, and a boundless knowledge of music. Music Annals is a sequel to Beckwith’s well received and much praised earlier book Music Papers: Articles and Talks by a Canadian Composer 1961–1994 (Ottawa, 1997), and is being published by the Institute for Music in Canada in celebration of the author’s 95th birthday earlier this year. The launch takes place at the Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. Joseph Street, on Friday, September 9^th at 5:00 pm.

Performances of two works by John Beckwith will also be heard at the launch:

• Meanwhile (2018) for percussion and piano, performed by the SHHH!! ensemble
• Chapters and Verse (2018) for two equal sopranos and viola, text by Paul Dutton, performed by Caitlin Wood, soprano; Sara Schabas, soprano; and Rory McLeod, viola

Copies of the book will be available at the launch for the special reduced price of $10 each.

UPDATE, 12 September 2022:

Music Annals is now available for purchase online for $29.95 from the Volumes Direct website at https://volumesdirect.com/products/music-annals-research-and-critical-writings-by-a-canadian-composer-1973-2014?_pos=1&_sid=168d35f85&_ss=r.

UPDATE, 26 September 2022:

Read all about the book launch in the article by Max Christie: “John Beckwith, musician,” The WholeNote 28/1 (Sep 20–Nov 8, 2022): 12 available here.