Robin Elliott. Counterpoint to a City: First Hundred Years of Women's Musical Club of Toronto. Toronto: ECW Press, 1997. 249 pp. ISBN 1-55022-306-2 (paperback). Since late nineteenth century, women's musical clubs have played an integral role in musical life of Canada. With establishment of first such club in Hamilton in 1 889 and founding of similar minded organizations in cities of Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Toronto shortly thereafter,1 seeds of women's musical club movement were firmly planted in this country, of which have yielded vibrant, flourishing groups which continue their activities to present day. Robin Elliott provides a fresh account of evolution of one these organizations in this recently published book from ECW Press. Counterpoint to a City: First Hundred Years of Women's Musical Club of Toronto is precisely what title implies - a history of club from its inception in 1 899 to present day. author draws upon existing sources - including archival materials, reviews, and, most notably, Helen Goudge's 1972 history of club - to compile an up-to-date and informative narrative. first two chapters establish historical context in which WMC came into being. author provides an excellent overview of cultural climate of late nineteenth-century Toronto and a perceptive (albeit brief) assessment of professional opportunities for women in music at turn of century, followed by story of how club was founded. Here, as elsewhere in book, reader may wish for further elaboration on certain points. Elliott's discussion of late nineteenth- and early twentiethcentury Canadian women musicians, for example, seems incomplete and far too brief. Emma Albani is mentioned along with several others, yet on subject of Canadian women pianists Elliott tells us only that none enjoyed an international career on level of Albani..., yet many appeared within Canada and abroad as soloists (p. 22). None of these women are named, nor is there any explanation proposed as to why Canadian women pianists did not attain same international stature as Albani and others. remaining chapters focus primarily on organization's concert activities from 1899 to present day. As Elliott rightly points out in preface to book, the main business of WMC has been and continues to be sponsoring of (p. 1 1), and this is reflected in author's exhaustive treatment of this area. third chapter gives an excellent overview of club's first decade, documenting concert activities and administrative matters, but also delving deeper into social significance of organization for Canadian women musicians at turn of century: One of benefits of WMC concerts was opportunity provided for these women to continue to perform before an audience under socially approved conditions (p. 50). Chapter 4 documents development of club in early decades of twentieth century and offers some perceptive observations on state of musical affairs in Toronto. Elliott notes, for example, that activities of musical clubs in Toronto were being reported upon in contemporary publications with increasing frequency and that number of clubs had reached unprecedented heights during this period. criticism which applies here as well as in subsequent chapters is author's vague usage of certain words and phrases, most notably a recurring tendency to describe certain composers or works as tame. For example, The WMC choir sang two works for chorus and orchestra by U.S. composers: A Legend of Granada by Henry Hadley (1871-1937), and Song of Sunrise by Charles Fonteyn Manney ( 1 872-1 95 1 ). This was tame fare by comparison with orchestral numbers, but nevertheless there was a positive review in Mail and Empire (p. …