W. O. Forsyth

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Wesley Octavius Forsyth
Born(1859-01-26)26 January 1859
Markham, Canada West
Died7 May 1937(1937-05-07) (aged 78)
Toronto, Canada
Occupation(s)Author, Composer

Wesley Octavius Forsyth (January 26, 1859 – May 7, 1937) was a Canadian pianist, composer[1] and music educator based in Toronto, Ontario. Most of his compositions were written for the piano and voice.[2][3]

Early life and education[edit]

Forsyth was born in Markham Township, York County, Canada West.[4] As a child Forsyth studied piano with Edward Fisher (musician). As a young man he studied at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig[2] with Salomon Jadassohn (composition, harmony, counterpoint, canon, and fugue),[3] Martin Krause (piano), Gustav Schreck (composition), Paul Klengel (composition), Richard Hofmann (composer) (orchestration), Robert Papperitz, Bruno Zwintscher, (piano) and Adolf Ruthardt,(piano).

Career[edit]

While studying in Leipzing, Forsyth wrote articles for Toronto's The Musical Courier, and created his first successful composition, "Romanza", as part of his Suite in E minor, in 1888. The piece was performed in Leipzig that year by a military orchestra.[5] He made his debut that year as a solo pianist, but did not achieve success as an instrumental performer, and returned to Toronto to teach. In 1892 he travelled to Vienna and Ischl to study with Julius Epstein[2] In 1893 he was the director of Toronto's Metropolitan College of Music, later renamed Metropolitan School of Music.[5][6]

In the 1890s he wrote music reviews and other articles for the publications The Musician and The Week.

By 1913 his compositions had been published internationally,[4] and he continued to produce a large volume of work after World War I.[7] By 1923, his pupils had formed a "Forsyth Club", and a number of his works were performed on the radio.[7]

A collection of Forsyth's papers and other documents about his life are preserved at the National Library of Canada.[8]

Select works[edit]

  • "Love took me softly by the hand" : op. 30, no. 2
  • "Showers are falling"
  • "The homelight"
  • Prelude and fugue : no. 1 in C minor : for the organ", op. 18
  • "No. 2 : Song of the silver night (romance)"
  • 'Frülingsabend = Spring evening : Alt oder Mezzo-Sopran mit Pianofortebegleitung", op. 16, no. 2
  • "Through enchanting meadows", op. 54

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Canadian Magazine. Vol. 41. H. C. Maclean Publications. 1913. p. 492.
  2. ^ a b c Elaine Keillor. "W. O. Forsyth". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  3. ^ a b Guido Bimberg (1997). Musique au Canada. Universitätsverlag Dr. N. Brockmeyer. pp. 19, 58. ISBN 978-3-8196-0516-1.
  4. ^ a b The Yearbook of Canadian Art. J. M. Dent. 1913. pp. 111, 115.
  5. ^ a b Elaine Keillor (18 March 2008). Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 125, 149. ISBN 978-0-7735-3391-2.
  6. ^ Musical Courier: A Weekly Journal Devoted to Music and the Music Trades. Musical Courier Company. 1895. p. 16.
  7. ^ a b Clifford Ford (1982). Canada's music: an historical survey. GLC Publishers. pp. 68, 122. ISBN 9780888740540.
  8. ^ "FORSYTH, W.O. (Wesley Octavius), 1859-1937 MUS 106". Music archive at the National Library of Canada
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