Born: 19 May 1839, United Kingdom
Died: 4 December 1884)
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Alice Mary Smith
The following is excerpted from A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, published in 1900 and edited by George Grove.
Alice Mary Meadows White, née Smith, a distinguished English composer, was born May 19, 1839. She was a pupil of Sir W. Sterndale Bennett and Sir G. A. Macfarren; married Frederick Meadows White, Esq., Q.C., Jan. 2, 1867, was elected Female Professional Associate of the Philharmonic Society in Nov. 1867, Hon. Member of the Royal Academy of Music in 1884, and died Dec. 4, 1884. She was a prolific composer of works of all dimensions. The list embraces 2 Symphonies, in C minor (1863), and G (18—); Overtures to ‘Endymion’ (1871), ‘Lalla Rookh’ (1865), ‘Masque of Pandora,’ with two Intermezzi (1878), and ‘Jason’ (1879); a Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (1872); an Introduction and Allegro for PF. and orchestra (1865); 4 PF. quartets, in B♭ (1861), D (1864), E, and G minor; a PF. trio in G (1862); 3 String quartets, in D (1862), A (1870), and G; also 5 Cantatas for soli, chorus, and orchestral accompaniment—’Rüdesheim or Gisela’ (1865), Kingsley’s ‘Ode to the North-East Wind’ (Hackney Choral Association, 1880), Collins’s ‘Ode to the Passions’ (Hereford festival, 1882), Kingsley’s ‘Song of the Little Baltung’ (1883), Kingsley’s ‘ Red King’ (1884), the four last published by Novellos; Part Song ‘The Dream’ (1863); Duet (S. T.) ‘Maying’; many solo-songs, duets, etc. ‘Her music,’ says the ‘Athenæum’ of Dec. 13, 1884, ‘is marked by elegance and grace rather than by any great individuality … that she was not deficient in power and energy is proved by portions of the Ode to the North-East Wind, and The Passions. Her forms were always clear and her ideas free from eccentricity; her sympathies were evidently with the classic rather than with the romantic school.’