Canadian composer Louis Applebaum devoted his life to the cultural awakening of his native land, and this "magnificent obsession" drove him to become a founder of the Canadian League of Composers and the Canadian Music Centre. He was an instrumental figure in the early development of the National Film Board, the Stratford Festival, and the National Art Centre in Ottawa. For nearly half a century he composed music for the Stratford Festival, television, radio, and films. This illustrated biography explores the man who was beloved by his fellow artists and the icon to whom every Canadian, knowingly or not, is indebted.

Walter Pitman has been a federal MP and an Ontario MLA, president of Ryerson University, and director of the Ontario Arts Council. He is a Member of the Order of Ontario; an Officer of the Order of Canada; and the author of Elmer Iseler, Music Makers, and Louis Applebaum. Currently, he lives in Toronto.

Walter Pitman's profile page

a meticulous biographyLouis Applebaum's story is the story of Canada's fitful cultural growth--our long journey from gangly adolescence to early adulthoodPitman's book is required reading.

Ottawa Citizen

Walter Pitman has written a meticulous, authoritative biography, enganced by personal interviews with friends and family.

Books in Canada

a must read for anyone interested in the arts and music.

Canadian Jewish News

a welcome tribute to a man who was a vital force in Canada's cultural life in the seconed half of the twentieth century.

University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 73, Number 1

Pitman has written a well researched and thoroughly enjoyable biography.

Wholenote

this is a richly detailed biography that reviews Applebaum's many, varied and always significant contributions to his craft, his fellow musicians and his country.

Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter

one of the most valuable , best researched studies ever devoted to a Canadian musician.

Toronto Star