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Valentine Abt

Valentine Abt (born Pittsburgh June 13, 1873 – died Mayview, Pennsylvania July 16, 1942) was an American composer who specialized in the mandolin. In the book Popular American Composers, Frank L. Boyden named Abt one of America's most "prominent specialists of the mandolin", saying that he should be appreciated in Europe as well as America as "one of the greatest artists of any instrument."

Abt was a proponent of the duo-style of mandolin playing, in which one players plays back and forth between melody, counter-melody and harmony so quickly that it sounds as if two instruments are playing. Boyden credited Abt with founding a musical movement around the duo-style, as well as "trio" and "quartet" styles (that sound like three and four different instruments at once). The golden age of the mandolin around the turn of the 20th-Century included other prominent mandolin players using the style, including Samuel Siegel, W. Eugene Page, and Seth Weeks.

Birth and Death Data: Born June 13, 1873 (Pittsburgh), Died July 16, 1942

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1905 - 1909

Roles Represented in DAHR: mandolin, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-2580 10-in. 5/29/1905 Valse brillante Valentine Abt Mandolin solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, mandolin, composer  
Victor B-2581 10-in. 5/29/1905 Angel's serenade Valentine Abt Mandolin solo, with orchestra instrumentalist, mandolin  
Victor B-6323 10-in. 8/5/1908 Sweet memories Valentine Abt ; Roy Butin Mandolin and harp-guitar duet instrumentalist, mandolin, composer  
Victor B-6324 10-in. 8/5/1908 Manzanillo Valentine Abt ; Roy Butin Mandolin and harp-guitar duet instrumentalist, mandolin  
Victor B-6325 10-in. 8/5/1908 Artist's valse Valentine Abt ; Roy Butin Mandolin and harp-guitar duet instrumentalist, mandolin, composer  
Victor B-6326 10-in. 8/5/1908 Evening star Valentine Abt ; Roy Butin Mandolin and harp-guitar duet instrumentalist, mandolin  
Victor B-6342 10-in. 8/12/1908 Barcarolle Valentine Abt ; Roy Butin Mandolin and harp-guitar duet instrumentalist, mandolin  
Victor B-6343 10-in. 8/12/1908 Fantasie Valentine Abt ; Roy Butin Mandolin and harp-guitar duet instrumentalist, mandolin, composer  
Victor B-8598 10-in. 12/8/1909 Sweet memories Abt's Mandolin Orchestra Mandolin orchestra instrumentalist, mandolin, composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Abt, Valentine," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100877.

Abt, Valentine. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100877.

"Abt, Valentine." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100877

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