Whiting was born on June 20, 1861, in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, son of Charles Edward and Emma Reeves Leland Whiting. He began studying piano at the age of 8 with his mother. A few years later, he left school and was placed under the instruction of his uncle, organist and composer
George E. Whiting, who gave him lessons in the organ. He continued studying the piano; in 1873 or 1874, at the age of 13, he began his career as a concert pianist, in a concert in
Worcester, Massachusetts. Whiting also studied piano with Prof. Hans Bussmeyer (1853–1930), head of the piano department at the School and continued concertizing while in Munich. Along with fellow American students
H. W. Parker and
H. H. Huss, he received their highest honors in composition and many performances of his student works. In 1885, Whiting returned to America, and settled back in Boston. He married into a prominent New England family; his wife's name was Grace Kneeland. During this time, he devoted himself mostly to composing, in small forms predominantly. In 1895, he and his wife moved to
New York City. There he performed frequently as a concert pianist, as soloist with several American orchestras, gave solo recitals, and played with chamber ensembles. At this time, Whiting began to composer in larger forms. An early success was his "Floriana: Overheard In the Garden," a setting of
Oliver Herford's cycle of poems by that title, which was first performed in New York in 1902. In New York, he also taught piano (and possibly composition). He was a "tough-love" kind of teacher. He was harsh, often mockingly humorous, in his criticisms of his students, but at least some of them felt that it was well-meant. He frequently offered the same blunt criticisms of his adult friends' music, as well as of his own. In 1905 he was elected to the
National Institute of Arts and Letters. Sometime during his career, he was head of the Organ Department at the Cincinnati College of Music, under
Theodore Thomas. His main claim to fame during his lifetime was a yearly lecture/recital series on chamber music that continued from 1907 until 1930. He gave these lectures at
Harvard,
Princeton,
Yale, and
Columbia universities. Their purpose was to generate interest in music among the undergraduate students there. After these began, Whiting mostly gave up composing. Through the years, Whiting also occasionally wrote on the subject of music. His essays were published in the
Yale Review,
The Outlook,
New Music Review, and in newspapers like the
New York Times. In his later years he regretted not composing more. Whiting died on July 20, 1936, in
Beverly, Massachusetts. == Musical style ==