By Earl Arthur Love
IN MEMORIAM – The Music Critics Association of North America lost one of its newer members on May 31 with the sudden passing of Charles Alexander Pope Jr. of Ottawa, Ontario. He was just two weeks short of his 70th birthday. The following is an adaptation of my address to MCANA colleagues at their recent annual gathering.
Charles was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and studied piano performance at London’s Royal College of Music. Eventually, he settled into a writing career in Ottawa, becoming a long-time correspondent for Opera Canada and a good friend of its founder, Ruby Mercer.
Charles began writing reviews from Ottawa for ConcertoNet.com in 2014. On its website, the editors wrote:
“For our readers it was always a joy to read his insightful and well documented reviews. Charles’s knowledge and expertise in the field of music were, for us all, a reference. Not to mention his wonderful sense of humor.
“His reviews, always elegantly written, were thorough, respectful of artists, even when his ears were put to the test. For us, colleagues, Charles will be remembered as a warm, courteous gentleman, as well as an experienced writer who greatly contributed to the fame of ConcertoNet. He was a profound, loyal lover of music and we will greatly miss him.”
Recent articles by Pope:
- Review of John Storgårds leading the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Sibelius Symphony No. 1 – at Concertonet.com
- Review of the Rotterdam Philharmonic DVD documentary The Story of ‘Le Sacre du printemps’ – at Concertonet.com
- Review of Angela Hewitt’s Hyperian CD recital of Scarlatti sonatas – at Concertonet.com
- Preview of the Ottawa’s 2015 International Chamber Music Festival, better known as Chamberfest – at Classical Voice North America.
