Thomas Vincent Cator (23 March 1888 – 9 April 1931) was an American composer. His most significant achievement was the discovery and use of what he called the aura-modal scale.
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Biography
Thomas Vincent Cator was born in on March 23, 1888. He was the son of Thomas Vincent Cator Sr. (1851-1920), a lawyer and politician who ran for office for the Populist Party in California in the late 19th century. He had a sister Marie (1883-1968), who became a writer and poet and first married Max Wardall (from 1902 to 1912) and later the famous figure skating couch Gustave Lussi
Gustave François Lussi (June 2, 1898 – June 23, 1993) was a figure skating coach. He lived in Lake Placid, New York, and was instrumental in producing popular ice shows in the 1930s and after. Using the rinks from the 1932 Winter Olympics, he tr ...
(from 1921 to around 1930).
Cator became popular in the late 1910s and 1920s with his songs. A notable story was when renowned singer Eleonora de Cisneros sang his song "The Kiss" in a Liberty Bonds
A liberty bond or liberty loan was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financia ...
sale in New York City in early 1919 and received 43 million dollars for 43 kisses to bankers. He also invented the ''Aura-Modal Scale'', in which he composed several piano pieces.
In 1922, Cator wrote the composition operetta for the play '' Inchling,'' written by Ira Mallory Remsen
Ira Mallory Remsen (May 11, 1876 – November 29, 1928), known locally as Rem Remsen, was an American painter, playwright and Bohemian Club member. He was the son of Dr. Ira Remsen chemist and former president of Johns Hopkins University. Remsen ...
, that was a story of an inch worm and its struggle for wings, which captured the fantasies of young children.
Death
Cator died of a heart attack on April 9, 1931, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...
at the age of 45.
Compositions
* ''The Kiss'', for voice and piano
* ''To Ramona'', for voice and piano
* ''The pool of quietness'', for voice and piano
* ''St. Moritz'', for voice and pianoJacob Gegna
Jacob M. "Jascha" Gegna or Gegner (, 1879–1944) was an American violinist, teacher, composer and recording artist. Today he is mainly remembered for his work as a teacher in New York and Los Angeles, as well as his early twentieth century 78 rpm ...
)
* Operetta '' Inchling'' (text by Ira Mallory Remsen
Ira Mallory Remsen (May 11, 1876 – November 29, 1928), known locally as Rem Remsen, was an American painter, playwright and Bohemian Club member. He was the son of Dr. Ira Remsen chemist and former president of Johns Hopkins University. Remsen ...
)
* Violin sonata (1929)[Recital Programs of the Curtis Institute for Music of the year 1929/30, program from 2 December 1929; retrieved from archive.org on 06.01.2021]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cator, Thomas
1888 births
1931 deaths
American composers
Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey
Musicians from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California