Alfred La Liberté (10 February 1882 – 7 May 1952) was a Canadian composer,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, writer on music, and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. He was a disciple and close personal friend of Alexander Scriabin. He was also an admirer of

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

and Nikolai Medtner. Dupré notably dedicated his ''Variations, Opus 22'' for piano to him and Medtner dedicated his ''Sonata minacciosa, Opus 53 no. 2'' and his song ''The Captive, Opus 52 no. 7'' to La Liberté. Most of his own compositions remain unfinished. He also contributed articles to ''Le Passe-Temps'', including one on Scriabin in May 1946.

Life and career

Born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, La Liberté was named after the Canadian sculptor of the same name. He began his piano studies as a teenager with a Miss Malsberg. His later piano teachers included J.-B. Denys,

Dominique Ducharme Dominique Ducharme (15 May 1765 – 3 August 1853), from Lachine, Quebec, was a French Canadian fur trader, settler, militia officer, and public servant. He was named François Ducharme at birth, the son of Jean-Marie Ducharme. In 1793 Duch ...

, Romain-Octave Pelletier I, and Émiliano Renaud. In 1902 he entered the

Stern Conservatory The Stern Conservatory (''Stern'sches Konservatorium'') was a private music school in Berlin with many distinguished tutors and alumni. The school is now part of Berlin University of the Arts. History It was founded in 1850 as the ''Berliner Musi ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

where he studied with such teachers as Ernst Baeker (harmony), Paul Lutzenko (piano), and Wilhelm Klatte (counterpoint and composition) through 1906. The expenses of his education in Berlin were paid largely through grants obtained from the German government after winning a series of piano competitions. He notably played in concert for

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

at both the imperial court of Berlin and the ducal court of Cobourg. In 1906 La Liberté returned to Canada and began teaching at the

Canadian Conservatory of Music The Canadian Conservatory of Music was a music conservatory in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that was actively providing higher education in music during the first half of the 20th century. History Founded by Harry Puddicombe in 1902, the school was loc ...

in Ottawa in the autumn of 1906. He gave a highly lauded recital at the Monument national in Montreal on 22 November 1906. An admirer of the works of Alexander Scriabin, he began a correspondence with the composer in February 1907 while Scriabin was staying in New York City. Scriabin invited La Liberté to visit him in New York, and La Liberté came to that city for a visit in the summer of 1907. Scriabin convinced La Liberté to return to Berlin, and the composer soon began further studies in that city with

Teresa Carreño María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García (December 22, 1853June 12, 1917) was a Venezuelan pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned virtuoso piani ...

. He then went to Brussels where he studied composition under Scriabin, becoming one of his close disciples. He gave recital tours in Germany and England from 1908–1910, notably appearing in concert with

Emma Albani Dame Emma Albani, DBE (born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse; 1 November 18473 April 1930) was a Canadian-British operatic soprano of the 19th century and early 20th century, and the first Canadian singer to become an international star. He ...

in London. La Liberté returned to Montreal in 1911 where he opened a private teaching studio. He also was active in that city as a performer where he was a proponent of Scriabin's works. In 1913 he moved to New York City, where he taught as a guest lecturer at several institutions and ran a piano studio. Financial problems related to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

put an end to his career in America and he once again returned to teaching privately in Montreal. From 1926-1935 he worked as a piano instructor for the

Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jésus et de Marie) is a teaching religious institute founded at Longueuil, Québec, Canada, in 1843 by Blessed Mother Marie Rose Durocher for the Christian education of y ...

. He then taught on the faculty of the

Conservatoire national de musique Conservatoire national de musique was a music conservatory in Montreal, Quebec that was actively providing higher education in music during the first eight decades of the 20th century. Founded in 1905 by Alphonse Lavallée-Smith as the Conservatoir ...

for several years. Among his notable pupils were Hélène Baillargeon,

Morris Davis Morris Durham "Moe" Davis (born July 31, 1958) is an American retired U.S. Air Force colonel, attorney, educator, politician, and former administrative law judge. Davis was appointed the third Chief Prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commiss ...

, Gérald Desmarais,

Hector Gratton Joseph Thomas Hector Gratton (13 August 1900 – 16 July 1970) was a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and music educator. As a composer his music is written in an essentially folkloric and popular style which avoids harmonic sop ...

, Djane Lavoie-Herz, Antonio Létourneau,

Alfred Mignault Alfred Joseph Édouard Mignault (8 December 1895 – 10 July 1961) was a Canadian organist, composer, and music educator. A largely self-taught composer, his compositional output includes both vocal and instrumental works such as songs, wor ...

, Marie-Thérèse Paquin, and

Wilfrid Pelletier Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving ...

. Liberté died in Montreal in 1952 at the age of 70. He was made an associate of the

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

posthumously. At the time of his death he was in possession of a number of Scriabin's original manuscripts, including ''Poem of Ecstasy'' and ''Sonata No. 5'', and his wife donated them to the Scriabin museum in Moscow in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Liberte, Alfred 1882 births 1952 deaths Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian writers about music Canadian classical pianists Academic staff of the Conservatoire national de musique Canadian music educators Canadian male pianists 20th-century Canadian pianists 20th-century Canadian male musicians