La Violette, Wesley

La Violette, Wesley, American composer and teacher; b. St. James, Minn., Jan. 4, 1894; d. Escondido, Calif., July 29, 1978. He studied at the Northwestern Univ. School of Music (graduated, 1917) and at the Chicago Musical Coll. (D.Mus., 1925), where he was a member of the faculty (1923–33). After teaching at De Paul Univ. in Chicago (1933–40), where he also was director of De Paul Univ. Press, he taught at the Los Angeles Cons, (from 1946). He also was active as a lecturer on philosophy, religion, and the arts. Among his books were Music and its Makers (1938) and The Crown of Wisdom (1949), the latter devoted to religious mysticism. His compositions followed generally along traditional pathways, although he was not adverse to atonal usages.

Works

dramatic:Shylock, opera (1927); Schubertiana, ballet (1935); The Enlightened One, opera (1935). orch.:Penetrella for Strings (Chicago, Nov. 30, 1928); Osiris (1929); 2 violin concertos (1929, 1938); 3 syms.: No. 1 (1936; Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 19, 1938), No. 2 (1939; Chicago, May 25, 1942), and No. 3 (1952); Chorale (Chicago, July 31, 1936); Piano Concerto (1937); Concerto for String Quartet and Orch. (1939); Music from the High Sierras (San Francisco, March 4, 1941); Flute Concertino (1943). chamber: 3 string quartets (1926, 1933, 1936); Piano Quintet (1927); Sonata for 2 Violins (1931); Octet (1934); 2 violin sonatas (1934, 1937); Sextet for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (1940); Flute Quintet (1943). vocal: Choral pieces; songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire