Leo Smit, full name Leopold Smit, was a Dutch composer and pianist of Portuguese-Jewish descent. He was born in Amsterdam on 14 May 1900. He studied piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Sem Dresden and Ulfert Schults, then studied composition with Bernard Zweers and Dresden. While still a student, his Introduction and Allegro for symphony orchestra was performed by the conservatory orchestra class.
In 1924–1927, Smit taught harmony and music theory at the Amsterdam Conservatory. His chamber-orchestra work The Slow-Motion Film was performed in 1925; a reviewer considered him talented but not yet fully mature and too dependent on Igor Stravinsky. Smit moved to Paris in 1927, where the music of Maurice Ravel and Stravinsky made a strong impression on him. He was close to Jacques Beers and had substantial contact with members of Les Six, including Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger and Francis Poulenc.
Smit moved to Brussels late in 1936 and lived there for a year before returning to Amsterdam late in 1937. His music was French-oriented in character. His works included Silhouettes for orchestra; a Suite for Piano; a Trio for flute, viola and harp, dedicated to Rosa Spier; the ballet Schemselnihar; a Concertino for harp and orchestra; a Symphony in C; a Piano Concerto for piano and wind orchestra; a Concertino for cello and orchestra; a String Quartet; and a Viola Concerto for viola and string orchestra. His Sonata for flute and piano, completed on 12 February 1943, was his final work.
On 27 April 1943, Smit was transported to Sobibor, where he was murdered on 30 April 1943. His wife, Engeline “Lien” de Vries, whom he had married in 1933, was also murdered at Sobibor. After his death, his music attracted little attention for a time, but it began to be performed again with some regularity from the late 1980s. A box set containing almost his complete output was released, and in 2022 the pianists Arthur and Lucas Jussen performed his music on tour and made a documentary about his musical life.
The Leo Smit Foundation was established posthumously in 1996 after a successful 1995 concert, organized with the Jewish Historical Museum, of music by Jewish-Dutch composers. It regularly presents concerts at the Uilenburger Synagogue and elsewhere, honoring Smit while also promoting other Jewish-Dutch composers.