When composer Eldon Rathburn passed away in August 2008, Canada lost its "grand old man" of film and television scoring and a composer well known and loved by Canada's naturally music-loving citizens. However, up to that time, very little of Rathburn's music has appeared on disc. There is quite a bit about Rathburn's music that might appeal to listeners abroad; an enthusiast of Charles Ives and an expert negotiator of instrumental sonorities, Rathburn's love of quotation and zany sense of humor would seem to travel well. ...
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When composer Eldon Rathburn passed away in August 2008, Canada lost its "grand old man" of film and television scoring and a composer well known and loved by Canada's naturally music-loving citizens. However, up to that time, very little of Rathburn's music has appeared on disc. There is quite a bit about Rathburn's music that might appeal to listeners abroad; an enthusiast of Charles Ives and an expert negotiator of instrumental sonorities, Rathburn's love of quotation and zany sense of humor would seem to travel well. The Crystal Records release Mostly Railroad Music (1994) was a decent installment, but covered a too-limited aspect of his activity, as it was geared only to his music about trains, apart from Schoenberg vs. Gershwin: A Tennis Match (1991). ATMA Classique's Eldon Rathburn: Works, featuring the Chamber Players of Canada, is a good deal more accessible a collection and covers a wider span of Rathburn's extensive output, which began in 1933 and continued until at least 2003.Indeed, this...
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