Imogen Holst
Encyclopedia
Imogen Clare Holst, CBE (12 April 19079 March 1984) was a British composer and conductor, and sole child of composer Gustav Holst
.
Imogen Holst was brought up in west London and educated at St Paul's Girls' School
, where her father was director of music. She worked with Herbert Howells
before entering the Royal College of Music
(RCM) in 1926 to study composition with George Dyson
and Gordon Jacob
, harmony
and counterpoint
with Ralph Vaughan Williams
, and conducting with William H. Reed
. She won several prizes for composition including the Cobbett Prize for a string quartet (1928).
In 1931 Holst began earning her living as a freelance musician, though her hopes of being a concert pianist were dashed by incipient phlebitis
in her left arm.
In April 1939 Holst went to Switzerland to study, and she returned just before the outbreak of war. She served on the Bloomsbury House Refugee Committee, working with musicians from Austria and Germany. In January 1940 was appointed by Sir Walford Davies to be one of six musicians charged with inspiring and organising musical activities among civilians in rural areas. The scheme, originally funded by the Pilgrim Trust
, was taken over by the newly formed Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, forerunner of the Arts Council of Great Britain
.
In July 1951 she resumed her freelance career, and in the autumn of 1952 the composer Benjamin Britten
asked her to come to Aldeburgh
, Suffolk, to help with his opera Gloriana
. She had first met him and his partner, the tenor Peter Pears
, in the 1940s and they became close friends. She lived in Aldeburgh for the rest of her life, initially working closely with Britten both as his music assistant and for the Aldeburgh Festival
, of which she was an artistic director from 1956 to 1977.
In 1953 she arranged for string orchestra William Byrd
's keyboard setting of an old Irish tune, Sellinger's Round. This became the basis of the Variations on an Elizabethan Theme
, jointly composed
by Britten, Lennox Berkeley
, Arthur Oldham
, Michael Tippett
and William Walton
. The work was premiered at the 1953 Aldeburgh Festival, in honour of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1963 she published An ABC of Music, an introduction to music theory, which is still in print.
In 1964 Imogen Holst left Aldeburgh to concentrate on recording and editing the music of her father. With composer Colin Matthews
she edited scholarly editions of her father's works (including four volumes of facsimiles) and compiled A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music (1974).
She was appointed a fellow of the RCM in 1966, an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music
in 1970 and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE) in 1975. She received honorary doctorates from the universities of Essex
(1968), Exeter
(1969), and Leeds
(1983).
She died in March 1984, aged 76, and is buried in the churchyard of Saint Peter and Saint Paul's Church in Aldeburgh. Her grave can be found directly behind those of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. She never married.
In 2007, Boydell Press published Imogen Holst: A Life in Music, edited by Christopher Grogan and Rosamund Strode, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her birth.
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
.
Imogen Holst was brought up in west London and educated at St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
, where her father was director of music. She worked with Herbert Howells
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...
before entering the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
(RCM) in 1926 to study composition with George Dyson
George Dyson (composer)
Sir George Dyson KCVO was a well-known English musician and composer. His son is the physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson and among his grandchildren are the science historian George Dyson and Esther Dyson...
and Gordon Jacob
Gordon Jacob
Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob was an English composer. He is known for his wind instrument composition and his instructional writings.-Life:...
, harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
and counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
with Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, and conducting with William H. Reed
William Henry Reed
William Henry "Billy" Reed was an English violinist, teacher, minor composer, conductor and biographer of Sir Edward Elgar...
. She won several prizes for composition including the Cobbett Prize for a string quartet (1928).
In 1931 Holst began earning her living as a freelance musician, though her hopes of being a concert pianist were dashed by incipient phlebitis
Phlebitis
Phlebitis is an inflammation of a vein, usually in the legs.When phlebitis is associated with the formation of blood clots , usually in the deep veins of the legs, the condition is called thrombophlebitis...
in her left arm.
In April 1939 Holst went to Switzerland to study, and she returned just before the outbreak of war. She served on the Bloomsbury House Refugee Committee, working with musicians from Austria and Germany. In January 1940 was appointed by Sir Walford Davies to be one of six musicians charged with inspiring and organising musical activities among civilians in rural areas. The scheme, originally funded by the Pilgrim Trust
Pilgrim Trust
The Pilgrim Trust is a London-based charitable trust. It was founded in 1930 by a two million pound grant by Edward Harkness, an American philanthropist. The trust's first secretary was former civil servant, Thomas Jones....
, was taken over by the newly formed Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, forerunner of the Arts Council of Great Britain
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
.
In July 1951 she resumed her freelance career, and in the autumn of 1952 the composer Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
asked her to come to Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
, Suffolk, to help with his opera Gloriana
Gloriana
Gloriana is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Elizabeth and Essex by Lytton Strachey...
. She had first met him and his partner, the tenor Peter Pears
Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
, in the 1940s and they became close friends. She lived in Aldeburgh for the rest of her life, initially working closely with Britten both as his music assistant and for the Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
, of which she was an artistic director from 1956 to 1977.
In 1953 she arranged for string orchestra William Byrd
William Byrd
William Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
's keyboard setting of an old Irish tune, Sellinger's Round. This became the basis of the Variations on an Elizabethan Theme
Variations on an Elizabethan Theme
Variations on an Elizabethan Theme is a set of variations for string orchestra, written collaboratively in 1952 by six English composers: Lennox Berkeley, Benjamin Britten, Arthur Oldham, Humphrey Searle, Michael Tippett and William Walton...
, jointly composed
Classical music written in collaboration
In classical music, it is relatively rare for a work to be written in collaboration by multiple composers. This contrasts with popular music, where it is common for more than one person to contribute to the music for a song...
by Britten, Lennox Berkeley
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
, Arthur Oldham
Arthur Oldham
Arthur William Oldham was an English composer and choirmaster. He founded the Edinburgh Festival Chorus in 1965, the Chorus of the Orchestre de Paris in 1975, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra Chorus in Amsterdam in 1979. He also worked with the Scottish Opera Chorus 1966-74 and directed the...
, Michael Tippett
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
and William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
. The work was premiered at the 1953 Aldeburgh Festival, in honour of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1963 she published An ABC of Music, an introduction to music theory, which is still in print.
In 1964 Imogen Holst left Aldeburgh to concentrate on recording and editing the music of her father. With composer Colin Matthews
Colin Matthews
Colin Matthews OBE is an English composer of classical music.-Early life and education:Matthews was born in London in 1946; his older brother is the composer David Matthews. He read classics at the University of Nottingham, and then studied composition there with Arnold Whittall, and with Nicholas...
she edited scholarly editions of her father's works (including four volumes of facsimiles) and compiled A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music (1974).
She was appointed a fellow of the RCM in 1966, an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in 1970 and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) in 1975. She received honorary doctorates from the universities of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
(1968), Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
(1969), and Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
(1983).
She died in March 1984, aged 76, and is buried in the churchyard of Saint Peter and Saint Paul's Church in Aldeburgh. Her grave can be found directly behind those of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. She never married.
In 2007, Boydell Press published Imogen Holst: A Life in Music, edited by Christopher Grogan and Rosamund Strode, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her birth.
External links
- A hero's overlooked life
- Photos of Imogen Holst's grave
- Imogen Holst: A Life in Music edited by Christopher Grogan (The Boydell Press 2007) includes her diary of her years working with Benjamin Britten, a biographical essay by Rosamund Strode and an analysis of her music by Christopher Tinker.
- http://www.imogenholst.com Court Lane Music has recorded a CD of her string chamber music.. Works include the Phantasy Quartet, Sonata for Violin and Cello, String Trio No. 1, The Fall of the Leaf, Duo for Viola and Piano, and the String Quintet. The disc, recorded and produced in 2007/8 by composer Thomas Hewitt JonesThomas Hewitt JonesThomas Hewitt Jones is a British composer of contemporary classical and commercial music. He has written extensively for ballet, including the 2008 score for the Independent Ballet Wales production of Under Milk Wood, which was met with critical acclaim including a 5* review from the Independent, a...
for the Court Lane Music label, received double 5* ratings in BBC Music Magazine.