A pupil of Glazunov in his childhood, Leo Ornstein moved with his family to the United States and continued his musical studies, making his debut as a pianist in New York in 1911. During his short concert career he included avant-garde music in his programmes, but in 1922 he withdrew from concert activity to concentrate on teaching, eventually establishing his own music school.

Instrumental Music

Ornstein wrote vocal and instrumental music, giving particular attention to music for the piano. In style he belonged to no specific school, but moved, in his later work, towards the neo-Romantic, after earlier experiment. He left eight piano sonatas, among other works, including many studies and works for children.