Cyril Meir Scott was born in Oxton, England, on September 27, 1879. His
musical training took place at Hoch’s Conservatory in Frankfort,
Germany, and privately with Ivan Knorr. He went to live in Liverpool in
1898 where he taught piano and devoted himself to composition.
Performances of several orchestral and chamber-music works at the turn
of the century helped establish his reputation. He also distinguished
himself as a concert pianist with performances throughout Europe and a
tour of America in 1921. Though frequently a composer with _avant-garde_
tendencies—one of the first English composers to use the most advanced
techniques of modern music—Scott is most famous for his short pieces for
the piano which have been extensively performed in transcription. His
writing is mainly impressionistic, with a subtle feeling for sensitive
atmosphere and moods. The best of these miniatures, each a delicate tone
picture, are: _Danse nègre_ (_Negro Dance_), op. 58, no. 3 (1908); and
_Lotus Land_, op. 47, no. 1 (1905). The latter was transcribed for
violin and piano by Kreisler and for orchestra by Kostelanetz.