Betts, Lorne

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Betts, Lorne

Betts, Lorne, Canadian composer, music critic, and teacher; b. Winnipeg, Aug. 2, 1918; d. Hamilton, Ontario, Aug. 5, 1985. He studied piano, organ, and theory in Winnipeg, and was a pupil of Weinzweig in Toronto (1947–53) before settling in Hamilton, Ontario.

Works

DRAMATIC: Opera: Riders to the Sea (1955); The Woodcarver’s Wife (1960).ORCH.: Sinfonietta (1952); 2 syms. (1954, 1961); 2 piano concertos (1955, 1957); 2 Abstracts (1961); Kanadario: Music for a Festival Occasion (1966); Variants (1969); Suite (1975); Concerto for Cello, Piano, and Orch. (1976).CHAMBER: Violin Sonata (1948); Clarinet Sonata (1949); 3 string quartets (1950, 1951, 1970); String Trio (1959); Quartet for Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, and Celesta (1960); piano pieces, including a Sonata (1950).VOCAL: Choral works and songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire