Gustav Holst (Oxford lives. Oxford paperbacks)

by Imogen Holst (Author), R. Vaughan Williams (Preface)

• Used

  Paperback
  1988

  $35.64

  This second edition of the biography of Gustav Holst written by his daughter Imogen, herself a musician, composer and critic, is now available in paperback for the first time. Imogen relates his life chronologically, from his birth at Cheltenham in 1874 to his death in 1934. She quotes at length from Holst's many letters to friends, including those to his fellow composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. With him, Holst became one of the more popular composers in the early 20th century, especially after the performance of his suite, The Planets in 1919 for which he is best known. Imogen tells of her father's life as a teacher, notes the performances of his various works and writes of his struggle against ill-health and depression. Imogen Holst is also author of An ABC of music (Oxford paperbacks).