Biography (read more)
Gustav Holst was an English composer and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods, born in Cheltenham and based for most of his career in London, where he taught at St Paul’s Girls’ School and directed music at Morley College. His output centers on orchestral and choral works, along with operas, chamber music, and songs, ranging stylistically from early Wagnerian influence to explorations of English folk song, Sanskrit and Hindu texts, and unconventional harmony and metre. He is best known for the orchestral suite The Planets. He died in London in 1934 following complications from surgery for a duodenal ulcer, at the age of 59.
Holst’s The Planets brought him international fame after the First World War and remains one of the most widely performed English orchestral works. A dedicated and influential teacher, he championed music education for women and helped shape a generation of younger English composers, including Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett. His fusion of folk material, modal harmony, and rhythmic experimentation secured him a lasting place among the leading English composers of the early twentieth century.
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Repertoire
Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity— Vladimir Ashkenazy
Performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy
Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: I. Mars, The Bringer Of War— John Eliot Gardiner
Performed by John Eliot Gardiner
Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: II. Venus, the Bringer of Peace— John Eliot Gardiner
Performed by John Eliot Gardiner
Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: III. Mercury, the Winged Messenger— John Eliot Gardiner
Performed by John Eliot Gardiner
Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: IV. Jupiter, The Bringer Of Jollity— John Eliot Gardiner
Performed by John Eliot Gardiner
Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: V. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age— John Eliot Gardiner
Performed by John Eliot Gardiner
Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: VI. Uranus, the Magician— John Eliot Gardiner
Performed by John Eliot Gardiner
Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: VII. Neptune, the Mystic— John Eliot Gardiner
Performed by John Eliot Gardiner
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “When Boughs Are Green in April” (Louis, Alison)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “Ho There, Old Dog” (Louis, Alison)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “The Most Beautiful Piece” (Alison, Philippe)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “The Time, Then, Was Well Chosen” (Philippe, Alison)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “Someone Is Coming!” (Alison, Philippe, Pierre)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “Before That I Was Twenty” (Pierre, Philippe)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “So Learned a Clerk” (Alison, Philippe, Pierre)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “Heigho, a Pretty Knave!” (Alison, Philippe)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “He’ll Lie All Day in the Sun” (Louis, Pierre, Alison)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “As I Was Walking” (Pierre, Louis, Alison)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Wandering Scholar, Op. 50: “Monster! Villain!” (Louis, Pierre, Alison)— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Perfect Fool, Op. 39, Ballet Music: II. Dance of Spirits of Earth. Moderato – Andante— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Perfect Fool, Op. 39, Ballet Music: III. Dance of Spirits of Water. Allegretto— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
The Perfect Fool, Op. 39, Ballet Music: IV. Dance of Spirits of Fire. Allegro moderato— André Previn
Performed by André Previn