Leo Smit

Leo Smit was a Dutch composer of Portuguese-Jewish descent. He was born in 1900 and studied piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory, followed by composition studies with Bernard Zweers and Sem Dresden. Some years later the Concertgebouw Orchestra performed his work Silhouetten. Critics noted ‘the use of peculiar African jazz band sound combinations’. In 1927, Smit moved to Paris, at that time the bustling musical centre of the world. Here, he allowed compositions by colleagues like Ravel and Stravinsky to affect his own music - with audible results. Halfway through the nineteen thirties he discovered his own unique style: a harmonic combination of lyricism, impulsiveness, spirituality and intellect. Leo Smit returned to Amsterdam in 1937 and during the war continued his work as a composer. On 12th February 1943 he completed an exquisite sonata for the flute and piano. On 27th April 1943, Leo Smit was transported to Sobibor, where he was killed three days later.

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