A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Smith, Sidney

SMITH, Sidney, born at Dorchester, July 14, 1839, received his first musical instruction from his parents, and at the age of 16 went to Leipzig, where he studied the piano under Moscheles and Plaidy; the violoncello under Grutzmacher; harmony and counterpoint under Hauptmann, Richter, and Papperitz; and composition under Rietz. He returned to England in 1858, and in the following year, on the advice of the late Mr. Henry Blagrove, he settled in London, where he has since resided, enjoying considerable reputation as a teacher. His compositions, which are confined to PF. pieces, are extremely popular with the numerous class of performers whose tastes are satisfied by a maximum of brilliancy combined with a minimum of difficulty. The most successful of his pieces are 'La Harpe Eolienne,' 'Le Jet d'Eau,' 'The Spinning Wheel,' and a 'Tarantella' in E minor, which (like most of his compositions) have been published and met with the same popularity on the Continent as in England. [App. p.794 "date of death, March 3, 1889."]

[ W. B. S. ]