Oskar Morawetz, one of Canada's best-known and frequently performed classical composers, died Wednesday in Toronto at age 90.

Winner of two Juno awards for classical music, Morawetz was known for lyrical melody, lively rhythm and innovative exploitation of instrumental colour.

In a career spanning more than 50 years, Morawetz wrote over 100 orchestral and chamber works, including Carnival Overture, Memorial to Martin Luther King and Prayer for Freedom.

"Fellow musicians will surely remember his encyclopedic memory of the classical music literature and his resolve to compose from his heart rather than be swayed by current trends," said his daughter, Claudia Morawetz, in an e-mail announcing his death.

Morawetz was born in Czechoslovakia and moved to Canada in 1940 to escape the Nazi occupation of Europe. Trained as a pianist, he studied at University of Toronto.

He served on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory of Music and as a professor of composition at the University of Toronto.

A self-taught composer, he won acclaim with works such as Carnival Overture and Piano Concerto No. 1, which was premiered by conductor Zubin Mehta with Anton Kuerti on piano in 1963.

Morawetz's works have been performed by artists such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Glenn Gould and tenor Ben Heppner, with Maureen Forrester giving the first performance of his Psalm 22 for voice and orchestra in 1984.

Plays on tragedies

Many of his compositions reflected on contemporary tragedies and the way the past continues to haunt us. He produced a Memorial to Martin Luther King for cello and orchestra in 1968, shortly after the civil rights leader's death, on a commission by Mstislav Rostropovich.

He also wrote a work called From the Diary of Anne Frank in 1970 based on the diaries of a young Jewish girl in occupied Holland, and a work based on anti-slavery poems by Frances E. W. Harper called Prayer for Freedom was commissioned by Toronto's Elmer Iseler Singers.

Morawetz gave his last performance as a pianist in March 1992, and retired in 1995 due to illness.

Morawetz was feted earlier this year, in honour of his 90th birthday, with performances of his works by the National Arts Centre orchestra in Ottawa, the Edmonton Symphony and Toronto Symphony.

Several of Morawetz's pieces have been recorded by major labels, and a seven-disc anthology of his work was released by the CBC in 1984.

He won the Order of Ontario, the Order of Canada and the Golden Jubilee Medal, among many other distinctions.

Claudia Morawetz said she and her brother, Richard, remember his warmth and gentleness as a father.

"We also remember his generosity towards others, his love of hearing and telling a good joke, and his endearing absent-mindedness," she said.

Morawetz married Ruth Spafford Shipman in 1958, but they divorced in 1984.

There will be a memorial service for Morawetz on June 28 at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music.