Alexander Brott

Alexander Brott was a Canadian conductor, composer, violinist and music teacher, whose wife Lotte was an accomplished cellist. Their sons were Boris Brott, who became a conductor, and Denis Brott, who was a cellist and conductor. In 1979 Alexander Brott was made a Member of the Order of Canada and in 1988 he was made a Knight of the National Order of Québec.

Brott, born as Joël Brod, started playing the violin as a child and had his first solo performances at age 11. When he was 15-years-old, he received a stipend from McGill University in Montréal for five years. Subsequently, he attended the Juilliard School, completing his studies in violin and composition. He belonged to the Montréal Symphony Orchestra (MSO) before, during, and after his studies. In 1939, he started teaching at McGill and founded the McGill String Quartet. In the 1950s, he concentrated on composition and conduction, particularly after a hand injury hampered his ability to play violin.

Brott became concertmaster and assistant conductor of the MSO and held the position until 1961. During this period, he composed a number of orchestral works and works for soloist and orchestra. He also was the first Canadian conductor presenting Canadian musical works in Europe. From 1965-81 Brott was Artistic Director of Kingston Symphony, and through 1990 directed the Kingston Pops Concerts. At the same time, he was teacher of conducting and conductor-in-residence in Montréal until 1985. His symphonic poem War and Peace, for which he received the CAPAC award, was written in 1944 during World War II. The duration is 22 minutes.

In 1952, Brott presented two other works, the Concertino for violin and orchestra and the overture Delightful Delusions, both from 1950. The Concertino is a 21-minute long work for violin and orchestra with the movements Allegro giusto, Andante and Allegro vivo. In 1985, a collection of seven CDs with music by Alexander Brott was released, which also includes this work. Delightful Delusions is an orchestral overture, about 6-minutes long.