Alfred La Liberté

Alfred La Liberté (10 February 1882 – 7 May 1952) was a Canadian composer, pianist, writer on music, and music educator. He was a disciple and close personal friend of Alexander Scriabin. He was also an admirer of Marcel Dupré and Nikolai Medtner. Dupré notably dedicated his Variations, Opus 22 for piano to him and Medtner dedicated his Sonata minacciosa, Opus 53 no. 2 and his song The Captive, Opus 52 no. 7 to La Liberté. Most of his own compositions remain unfinished. He also contributed articles to Le Passe-Temps, including one on Scriabin in May 1946. Life and career Born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, La Liberté was named after the Canadian sculptor of the same name. He began his piano studies as a teenager with a Miss Malsberg. His later piano teachers included J.-B. Denys, Dominique Ducharme, Romain-Octave Pelletier I, and Émiliano Renaud. In 1902 he entered the Stern Conservatory in Berlin where he studied with such teachers as Ernst Baeker (harmony), Paul Lutzenko (piano), and Wilhelm Klatte (counterpoint and composition) through 1906. The expenses of his education in Berlin were paid largely through grants obtained from the German government after winning a series o