Brott, Alexander, 1915-2005 : Conductor, composer, violinist and teacher born in Montreal, Alexander Brott received his first violin at age five, beginning studies on the instrument with Misha Kogan, and subsequently with Eugene Schneider and Alfred DeSève. The recipient of multiple bursaries from the McGill Conservatory (1929-1934), he pursued his training as a violinist with Maurice Onderet and as a composer with Douglas Clarke. In 1934, Brott was accepted to the Juilliard School, where he was the pupil of such renowned musicians as Sascha Jacobsen (violin), Bernard Wagenaar (composition) and Albert Stoessel (conducting). Following his studies in 1939, he became professor at McGill University, a position he maintained until his retirement in 1985.
A talented violinist, he performed in recital in various parts of Canada and was a member of numerous ensembles including the Montreal Trio, the CBC Trio, the Montreal Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the McGill String Quartet, which he founded in 1939 with Edwin Sherrard (second violin), Joseph Oriold (viola) and Jean Belland (cello). In 1942, Lotte Goetzel became cellist of the ensemble and the following year, the wife of Alexander Brott. The two undertook many musical projects, which they brought to fruition with undeniable passion, transmitting this same energy to their sons Boris (conductor) and Denis (cellist).
As a conductor, Alexander Brott led orchestras in Canada and around the world, including the Montreal Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Kingston Symphony Association, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Northern Orchestra, Kol Israel Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de México, and the Symphony Orchestra of the Soviet State Radio and Television. With his spouse, he founded the McGill Chamber Orchestra, conducting the majority of its concerts. This ensemble quickly became famous and toured, among other places, Russia, Switzerland, Japan, Mexico, Bermuda and the Yukon. Each season, it was joined by internationally renowned guest soloists such as David Oïstrakh, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Yo-Yo Ma, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Glenn Gould, Isaac Stern and Maureen Forrester. In the spirit of Arthur Fiedler's Boston Pops, Brott also established in Montreal popular concerts which became a summer tradition for several years.
During his career, Brott composed a number of commissioned works, notably From Sea to Sea (CBC), Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (Little Symphony of Montreal), Spheres in Orbit (Montreal Symphony Orchestra), Three Astral Visions (Samuel Lapitsky Foundation), Songs of the Central Eskimos (Canada Council), Martlet's Muse (Graduates' Society of McGill University) and Shofar (Canadian Jewish Congress). He was the recipient of, among other awards, the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge prize (Two Symphonic Movements, 1938; Oracle, 1939) as well as bronze medals for composition at the time of the Olympiads in London (War and Peace, 1948) and in Helsinki (Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, 1952). Other distinctions include the Sir Arnold Bax Gold Medal (1961), Pro Mundi Beneficio Medal (1975), Order of Canada (1979) and the Ordre national du Québec (1987).
