[1] Morawetz was born in Světlá nad Sázavou, Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic), into a Jewish family.
At the age of 19 he was recommended by George Szell for the assistant conductor's post with the Prague Opera.
In 1940 he left Europe for Canada where he began teaching at the Royal Conservatory of Music in 1946, and in 1952 was appointed to the University of Toronto where he was professor of composition until his retirement in 1982.
On three occasions, Morawetz was awarded a Canada Council Senior Arts Fellowship (1960, 1967, 1974) for his contribution to Canadian music.
He was also awarded an honorary diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music (1998), and the Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)