Mortimer Wilson

Mortimer Wilson (August 6, 1876 – January 27, 1932) was an American composer of classical music. He also scored several musical and dramatic films in the 1920s.

Wilson was born in Chariton, Iowa in Lucas County, a rural area in the south-central portion of the state. He studied organ, violin and composition with Frederick Grant Gleason at the Chicago Music College. He then studied in Leipzig, Germany with Max Reger. Upon return to this country in 1911, he taught composition at the Atlanta Conservatory and conducted the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1916, he moved to Brenau College in Gainesville, Georgia.[1]

In 1918, Wilson took a job as consulting editor for the National Academy of Music in New York City, where he remained until his death at the age of 55. Today, his works are mostly in manuscript; they include five symphonies and a great deal of chamber music, including three violin sonatas, two piano trios, two piano sonatas and an organ sonata.[1] The suite From My Youth, Op. 5 was published in 1911 and premiered by the Sitting Trio.[2]

Mortimer was also the author of three books: The Rhetoric of Music (1907), Harmonic and Melodic Technical Studies (1908) and Orchestral Training (1921).[1] His students included Robert Emmett Dolan, Joseph Littau and John Tasker Howard.[3] He died aged 56 after a bout of influenza.[4]

A 1924 Literary Digest article details Wilson's work on The Thief of Bagdad, and includes a photo of the composer.[5]

Filmography

References
  1. Butterworth, Neil. Dictionary of American Classical Composers (2013), p.498
  2. From My Youth, Silvertrust Edition
  3. Sherk, Warren M. 'Wilson, Mortimer', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  4. Obituary, The New York Times, 28 January 1932, p.21
  5. "A Higher Order of Music for the Movies", in Literary Digest, 19 July 1924, p. 26-27.
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