O'Leary, Arthur

1834-

Irish pianist and composer; born of a musical family at Tralee. Educated at Dublin, and received his first musical training at home, becoming such a good pianist that he was noted by Mr. Wyndham Goold, who, in 1847, sent him to Leipsic. Here he studied piano under Plaidy and Moscheles, theory from Hauptmann, and composition from Richter and Rietz, and made the acquaintance of Mendelssohn and the Schumanns. Returning to England in 1852 he joined Bennett's class in composition and Potter's piano class at the Royal Academy of Music. In 1856 he became professor there, where he taught until 1903. In 1873 he was appointed to the newly erected National Training School of Music, and, according to Brown and Stratton, he has also been professor at the Guildhall School and the Crystal Palace School of Science and Art, and has lectured and written for musical papers. In 1860 he married Rosetta Vinning, of Newton Abbott, a pupil of the Royal Academy of Music and a successful song composer. O'Leary's compositions include the instrumental works, overture and incidental music to The Spanish Student, by Longfellow, written in collaboration with Potter; a symphony in C; a concerto in E minor, for piano and orchestra; a theme in C minor, with variations; and a toccata in F; and songs, among them, Ask not why I love; He roamed in the forest; Listening; and 'Tis Jamie's foot I hear. He has edited Bennett's piano-music, Bach's Christmas oratorio, and masses by Hummel, Sechter and Schubert.