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
  1. Chaconne
  2. Intermezzo
  3. March
• Second Suite for Military Band in F
  1. March: Morris Dance, Swansea Town, Claudy Banks
  2. Song Without Words "I'll Love my Love"
  3. Song of the Blacksmith
  4. Fantasia on the "Dargason"
• St. Paul's Suite (Finale is another arrangement of 4th movement in Second Suite)
  1. Jig
  2. Ostinato
  3. Intermezzo
  4. 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).