Background
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.
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.
As a child he studied the cimbalom with his father. He studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music (TCM, now the Royal Conservatory) during the 1940s where his instructors included Boris Berlin (piano), John Weinzweig (harmony), and Ettore Mazzoleni (conducting).
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 Canadian Broadcasting Company. Foreign many years he was active as a concert cimbalon player, appearing as a soloist with symphony orchestras in both Canada and the United States. He was the only child in the family not born in Canada as the family emigrated to Windsor, Ontario shortly after his birth.
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. Toth began his performance career playing in dance bands in Toronto while studying at the TCM in the early 1940s.
He played in bands led by Stan Patton, Ellis McLintock, and Bert Niosi among others In the late 1940s he began working as a pianist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, collaborating frequently on radio programs featuring Howard Cable.
He soon was employed by Canadian Broadcasting Company Television as a music director for television programs starring Joan Fairfax, Wally Koster, and Denny Vaughan among others
During the late 1950s he played the piano in Philosophy Nimmons" jazz band "Nimmons "North" Nine". He also actively performed as a cimbalom player up until his retirement in 1989, notably appearing as a soloist in works by Bartók, Kodály, and Stravinsky with orchestras like the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ivan Romanoff Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Toth ceased working as a music director at the Canadian Broadcasting Company in 1965, after which he concentrated his efforts on composing jingles and theme music for radio and television
He and Jerry then formed their own company, Seven-O Productions, with whom he was active composing music for radio and television from 1970-1980.
They also collaborated on several Canadian Broadcasting Company television specials during the 1970s. Toth died in Lisle, Ontario in 2009 at the age of 83.
She notably contributed lyrics to several of her husband"s projects, including works on the 1977 LP album Canada: A Young People"s Musical Tour of Canada"s Provinces and Territories.
