Performances + Events
Warren Storey Smith
Born in Brookline, MA on July 14, 1885, Warren Storey Smith studied at the Carl Faelten Pianoforte School, Boston, where he then taught from 1908-1919.
He was appointed professor of theory and music history at New England Conservatory in 1922 and continued to teach there until 1964. He was faculty emeritus there from 1965 until his death in 1971. He introduced a “Syllabus of the Lectures in Musical History” for use at NEC and published A Handbook of Musical Form (1964).
Warren Smith’s History
Smith, commonly known as W. S. S., was the assistant music critic for the Boston Evening Transcript from 1919-1924 and music editor of the Boston Post from 1924-1953. As a composer, Smith wrote: A Romance (performed by the Boston Pops in 1916) and Andante Cantabile (1920) for orchestra; Songs entitled “To Helen” (1914), “The Gift of Pan,” “Faith,” “I Know a Trail” (all from 1915); “Ring out Wild Bells” from Poe; “Last Invocation” from Whitman; “A Caravan From China Comes” (1916; also with orchestra); as well as numerous instructive pieces for piano.
The pride of his final years was an honorary seat to the concerts of the BSO, given to Smith in recognition of his service to music. Warren Storey Smith died on October 15, 1971, at the age of 86.
Archival Collection
The Warren Storey Smith Collection consists of seven scrapbooks (which have been photocopied).
Access to the Warren Storey Smith Papers is granted by the Archivist. Appointments must be scheduled in advance. There are no restrictions pertaining to this collection. To view a detailed inventory of this collection click here.
All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Archivist. This collection should be cited as: NECA 19.27. Warren Storey Smith Papers, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.
This collection consists of seven scrapbooks of newspaper articles written by Warren Storey Smith, primarily for the Boston Transcript, with one of the scrapbooks containing articles from the Boston Tribune. The scrapbooks span the years 1919-1923 and primarily contain concert reviews. Occasionally there is a review by Smith of a new publication. Most of the concerts that were reviewed took place at one of the following venues: Jordan Hall, Symphony Hall, Boston Opera House, Steinert Hall, Sanders Theater, Arlington Theater, and the St. James Theater. The first scrapbook is called “Notebook.”
Notebook: 10/1919 – 5/1920, articles from The Boston Transcript
v. 1: 9/1920- 3/1921, articles from The Boston Transcript
v. 2: 3/1921- 5/1921; 9/1921-12/1921, articles from The Boston Transcript
v. 3: 12/1921 – 4/1922, articles from The Boston Transcript
v. 4: 4/1922-5/1922; 9/1922-12/1922, articles from The Boston Transcript
v. 5: 1/1923-4/1923, articles from The Boston Transcript
v. 6: 4/1923-6/1923; 9/1923-12/1923, articles from The Boston Tribune
A detailed inventory of this collection is available here.
