# R. Murray Schafer



## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

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"*R. Murray Schafer* (July 18, 1933 -) is the most famous Canadian composer alive, and one of the few whose works are often heard outside Canada. His orchestral scores have been conducted by Seiji Ozawa and Pierre Boulez. His string quartets - there are now eleven of them - have been performed by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano in Mexico, Quator Parisi in France and the St. Lawrence Quartet in the U.S. His choral music has been sung by vocal ensembles in Scandinavia. Some of his works travel well.

"Others however, do not - and that is by design. Many of the music-theatre pieces in his massive _Patria_ cycle are outdoor or site-specific works that defy presentation in a conventional theatre. In his writings, Schafer has made it clear that it is his goal to distance himself (both physically and conceptually) from traditional opera production. According to Schafer:

"_The waste of capital is more conspicuous in opera than in any of the other arts. It is also the art form most seriously hampered by the Hollywood star system. And it has taken upon itself the task of perpetuating a good many works for their musical values alone, regardless of the fact that dramatically, and in other ways, they no longer excite._"

I just realized I have the Molinari Quartet's recording of Schafer's String Quartets 8-12; I will have to give it a listen sometime this week. Meanwhile, can anyone else shed some light on this composer?


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