From that time onwards, Sir George Smart was one of the chief musical leaders and organizers in England, directing the music for the opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851,[citation needed] conducting at the Royal Philharmonic Society, Covent Garden, the provincial festivals, etc., and in 1838 being appointed composer to the Chapel Royal. He was a master of the Handelian traditions, was personally acquainted with Beethoven and a close friend of Weber, who died in his house. Some of his church music and glees became well known.[1] He died in London and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.[2]
His brother Henry (1778–1823), father of the composers Harriet Anne Smart and Henry Smart, was a well-known violinist.
Smart wrote a journal, Leaves from the Journals of Sir George Smart, that was published in 1907.
