Edmund Severn (December 10, 1862 – May 14, 1942) was an American composer and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist. Born in Nottingham, England, he moved to the United States at four, settling in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

and studying violin with his father; he later studied music in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. There he studied the Joachim bowing technique. As a composer, he wrote mainly

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l music, as well as many pieces for his instrument, including a

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

; he also wrote three

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s. He died in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. It is situate ...

. His most famous work is his "Polish Dance" for violin and piano, composed in 1918. Edmund Severn's work is often reflective of folk,

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and neoclassical genres of music. Severn continued composing into the mid-20th century until he died in 1942. Severn's pupils included the composer Frances Terry.

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* 1862 births 1942 deaths American male composers American composers English composers English emigrants to the United States American expatriates in Germany {{US-composer-19thC-stub