Toni Leutwiler

Toni Leutwiler (October 31, 1923 – March 8, 2009) was a composer and violinist from Zürich, Switzerland that specialized in light music.

Music

His music carries the distinctive style of music that was typical of other mid-century composers like Leroy Anderson. Much of it is also marked by virtuosity in the violin parts. These instances of virtuoso passages are very apparent in his compositions Bristol Cream, Happy Time, and Galop on Strings. A typical piece by him follows the ABA format, with two fast sections at the outer parts of the piece that are almost identical to each other and a slow, lyrical theme in the middle. The slow themes contrast very much with its passionate lyricism to the light and frivolous faster sections. The Water Skiing movement from his Summer Suite displays this very clearly.

His background as a violinist is extremely noticeable in his works. The violin parts take the melody almost all of the time while the rest of the orchestra simply just accompanies that section.

Further reading

http://www.toni-leutwiler.ch/ - This link is the website that is devoted to his works, but requires a translation for English speakers. There is also available brief audio clips of his other musical works.