Rudy Toth

Rudy Toth (16 December 1925 – 9 July 2009) was a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and cimbalom player of Slovak birth. As a composer he wrote works mainly for television and the radio, working frequently for the Canadian Broadcasting Company for over three decades. As a pianist he performed in a number of jazz and dance bands in Toronto and played for radio productions at the CBC. For many years he was active as a concert cimbalom player, appearing as a soloist with symphony orchestras in both Canada and the United States.

Early life and education Born in Stare Karasnow, Czechoslovakia, Toth was the son of violinist and cimbalom maker Carl Toth and the elder brother of musicians Jerry Toth and Tony Toth. He was the only child in the family not born in Canada as the family emigrated to Windsor, Ontario, shortly after his birth. As a child he studied the cimbalom with his father. He studied at The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) during the 1940s where his instructors included Boris Berlin (piano), John Weinzweig (harmony), and Ettore Mazzoleni (conducting). He pursued further studies in conducting with Walter Susskind in Toronto and at the Tanglewood Music Center with Leonard Bernstein. In 1950 he went to Paris to study the Piano with Gaby Casadesus.