Divorced & Retired
Certificate of absolution of marriage |
In January of 1982, two major events took place in Morawetz' life. After 24
years of an unhappy marriage, Morawetz and his wife separated, and two years later
were divorced.
In the same month, Morawetz turned 65 and his imminent
retirement was honoured at the University of Toronto by a concert of his music
performed by members of the music faculty. The concert took place on January 16, and the
program included his Flute Sonata, the premičre of his Violin Sonata
#2, his String Quartet #2, the Sonata for Brass Quintet, and
several of his songs.
Although Morawetz had looked forward to being able to compose full-time upon
his retirement, this sudden change of circumstances in his life took some
adjusting to. He was now alone in his home. His daughter was at university, and moved to Vancouver
upon graduation, and his son moved
in with his mother, and later moved to Europe to study and work. For the first
time in his life, Morawetz lived as a bachelor, and his daughter initially
received many phone calls with questions such as: how do you run the laundry
machine? How do you cook an artichoke? After a while, Morawetz settled into a
routine of frequenting a different neighbourhood restaurant each evening, and
soon all the local store owners greeted him by name and knew his shopping
habits. If he was absent from his customary visits for a few days due to illness
or travel, he would be welcomed back by a gratuitous cup of coffee or some other
gracious act. His neighbours checked up on him periodically, as well as one or
two of the local shopkeepers.
Gradually he settled into enjoying his new life, composing prolifically in
the newfound peace of his home. He spread out, using the extra bedrooms his
children once occupied as offices for his Aeneas music publishing and business
correspondence. As professor emeritus at the university, he retained an office
for a couple years, teaching the occasional course just to "stay in touch with
the young musical crowd". But soon he was composing full-time, as well as
keeping busy travelling, giving special lectures and appearing at many
events at which he was garnered various awards. He was elated with his new
lifestyle, enjoying the freedom to devote his creativity full-time to composing,
until he fell ill in 1995, and stopped composing altogether.
