NEWMARK, JOHN, 1904-1991
MUS 175

John Newmark fonds.  - 1915-1991.  - 1.79 m of textual records.  445 photographs.  - 8 slides.  - 56 audio tape reels.  - 46 audio discs.  - 8 audio tape cassettes.  - 3 videocassettes. 

Biographical sketch
Born in Bremen, Germany, to a family which cultivated music and painting, John Newmark (Hans Joseph Neumark) studied piano there and in Leipzig.  He settled in Montreal in 1944 and became a Canadian citizen in 1946.  One of North America's finest accompanists and ensemble players, his name has been invariably associated with such renowned singers as Maureen Forrester, George London, Pierrette Alarie, Léopold Simoneau, Bernard Diamant, John Boyden and Janet Baker, with violinists Noël Brunet, Hyman Bress and Alexander Brott, and with cellists Walter Joachim and Paul Tortelier, as well as with the Montreal String Quartet.  In 1949 and 1950, John Newmark accompanied the celebrated English contralto Kathleen Ferrier in two critically acclaimed North-American tours.  They won the Grand prix du disque de l'Académie Charles Cros in 1952 for their recording of the Schumann cycles and Brahms's Vier ernste Gesänge.  From 1972 to 1975, Newmark was an artistic advisor to the Opéra du Québec and served on many competition juries.  In 1974, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.  In 1979, he received the Canadian Music Council Medal, and in 1988, the Prix Denise Pelletier. 

Scope and content
The fonds consists of records pertaining to John Newmark's musical career and his connections with a number of well-known artists.  It contains biographical documents; diaries; correspondence (Pauline Donalda, Maureen Forrester, Frances James, Louis Quilico, Gabrielle Roy, etc.); itineraries; scripts; contracts; certificates; scrapbooks containing concert programmes, correspondence, caricatures and press clippings; annotated published scores; photographs of John Newmark and personalities in the music world; and sound recordings of John Newmark playing solo or with artists such as Pierrette Alarie, John Boyden, Freda Van Hessen, Léopold Simoneau and Thérèse Sévigny. 

Immediate source of acquisition:  acquired from John Newmark in 1987 and from Michel Bourda in 1996 and 1998. 

Restrictions:  File 56 (contracts) is restricted. 

Finding aids:  provisional description.