Gustav Holst
Gustavus Theodore von Holst (
September 21,
1874 -
May 25,
1934), English
composer. Born in
Cheltenham, he went on to study at the
Royal College of Music in
London. His best-known work is probably his orchestral suite
The Planets, completed in
1916. Holst's relatively small output for the wind band has nonetheless guaranteed him a position as the medium's cornerstone, seen in innumberable present-day programs featuring his two
Suites for Military Band.
Other works
- The Hymn of Jesus
- The Perfect Fool, an opera
- At the Boar's Head
- A Somerset Rhapsody
- First Suite for Military Band in Eb
- Chaconne
- Intermezzo
- March
- Second Suite for Military Band in F
- March: Morris Dance, Swansea Town, Claudy Banks
- Song Without Words "I'll Love my Love"
- Song of the Blacksmith
- Fantasia on the "Dargason"
- St. Paul's Suite (Finale is another arrangement of 4th movement in Second Suite)
- Jig
- Ostinato
- Intermezzo
- Finale (The Dargason)
- Hammersmith: Prelude and Scherzo
Like many composers, Holst also played a musical instrument, in his case the trombone (a choice dictated by a medical condition that robbed him of the manual dexterity required for more obvious instruments such as the piano).
