Leo Smith
Leo Smith ( Joseph Leopold Smith ; born November 26, 1881 in Birmingham , † April 18, 1952 in Toronto ) was a Canadian composer, cellist and music teacher.
Life
As a child, Smith took cello lessons from WH Priestley in Birmingham and Carl Fuchs in Manchester. At the age of eight he played a solo concert at Birmingham Town Hall . He studied at Manchester College of Music and with Henry Hiles at Manchester University .
He also played in various chamber music ensembles, was a cellist in the Hallé Orchestra (under Hans Richter ) and for five years in the orchestra of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden , where he a. a. Frederick Delius , Edward Elgar , Claude Debussy and Béla Bartók as conductors. A Symphonic Movement in E Minor from this period has been lost, and songs a.o. a. based on texts by his brother Arnold Smith .
In 1910 Smith emigrated to Canada. He became a member and from 1932 first cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra ; from 1938 he was also the first cellist of the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra . From 1911 he taught music theory, composition, music history and cello at the Toronto Conservatory of Music . He played in the Conservatory Trio and from 1929 to 1942 in the Conservatory String Quartet and was the cellist of the Toronto String Quartet and the Academy String Quartet . From 1918 to 1935 he was editor of the Conservatory Quarterly Review , for which he wrote numerous articles himself.
In 1927 Smith was a lecturer, in 1937 a professor at the Music Faculty of the University of Toronto . His students included u. a. Marcus Adeney , Louis Applebaum , John Beckwith , Keith Bissell , Howard Brown , Kenneth Peacock , Margaret Sargent and Bertha Tamblyn . After his retirement he wrote music reviews for Globe and Mail magazine until his death . Smith's manuscripts and writings are owned by the National Library of Canada , which held an exhibition and concert in 1981 in memory of the composer.
Works
Orchestral works
- An ancient song
- Divertissement in Waltz Time
- Elegy for Small Orchestra
- Little Pretty Nightingale
- Occasion for strings
- A Summer Idyll for clarinet and string orchestra
Chamber music
- Celtic Trio for piano trio
- Four Pieces from The Book of Irish Country Songs for cello and piano
- Four Pieces in an Old English Style for Cello and Piano
- A Horse Race Ballad for Violin, Cello and Harp
- Old London Street Cries for two singers, cello and piano
- Quartet in D , string quartet
- Shakespearean Music
- Sonata in E Minor for cello and piano
- Three Ravens for piano trio
- Trio for violin, viol and harpsichord
- Tambourine , folk song for violin and piano
- Trochaios , folk song for violin and piano
- Dans Paris ya une brune , folksong arrangement for string quartet
- J'ai cueilli la belle rose , folk song arrangement for string quartet
- The Passionate Shepherd for voice, cello and piano
- Her Reply , for voice, cello and piano
- Spring's Welcome , for voice, cello and piano
- Little Peggy Ramsay , for voice, cello and piano
- Father O'Flynn for cello and piano
- Indian Romance for Cello and Piano
- Suite for piano
- Three pieces for piano
- Concertina for piano
Vocal works
- Five Songs , 1912
- Four Songs , 1914
- Beloved and Blest for male choir, 1914
- Night for male choir, 1914
- On Dante's Track for male choir, 1914
- Christmas Bells , 1916
- To One in Paradise , 1924
- Fresh from the Dewy Hill for female choir, 1929
- We Are the Music Makers for female choir, 1930
- Three Songs , 1930
- Songs of Experience , 1941
Fonts
- Musical Rudiments (Boston 1920)
- Music of the 17th and 18th Centuries (Toronto 1931)
- Elementary Part-Writing (Oakville, Ontario, 1939),
Web links
- Leo Smith ( English, French ) In: Encyclopedia of Music in Canada . published by The Canadian Encyclopedia .
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Smith, Leo |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Smith, Joseph Leopold (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian composer, cellist and music teacher |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 26, 1881 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham |
DATE OF DEATH | April 18, 1952 |
Place of death | Toronto |