Maureen Forrester was a Canadian contralto, one of the great concert singers of the twentieth century. She was especially admired in Mahler, Bach and large-scale choral repertory.

In the Pristine catalogue she appears in Mahler and Beethoven, including Bruno Walter’s Mahler Second and Karajan’s New York Beethoven Ninth.

Forrester’s singing combined profound depth, warmth and textual seriousness, making her one of the natural voices for Mahler’s inward world.

Her page is essential. Forrester gives the contralto shelf a deep Canadian bronze, glowing from within.