I am writing this essay on Gustav Holst (his original name was Gustavus Theodore von Holst). He lived from September 21, 1874, to May 25, 1934. He composed music in many genres, but is best known for his orchestral piece, The Planets. When I was in seventh grade, my band played Jupiter, which is one of the movements in Holst’s The Planets suite. This is what really sparked my interest in Holst’s music. Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. His father was a professional musician. Gustav’s mother died in 1882, and his family moved to a different house. His aunt, Nina, came to help raise Gustav and his brother. Gustav learned to play the piano and violin from a young age, and took up trombone as well. His father thought that Gustav playing a brass instrument might help him with his asthma. In 1893, Holst applied for a scholarship to the Royal College of Music. He did not get it, but was accepted as a non scholarship student. He however received a scholarship in 1895, which helped him quite a bit financially. Holst played trombone professionally during his time at RCM to help support himself. …show more content…
He played trombone in many different orchestras, but his real passion was composing. As soon as he had enough money, Holst married Isobel Harrison, who he had met at the RCM. In 1903, Holst stopped playing in orchestras so that he could focus on music composition. However he did not make enough money as a composer, so he took various teaching jobs at schools near his home, but is best known for being the Director of Music at St. Paul’s Girls’ School. Gustav then went on to compose many pieces of music from many different genres. He received huge amounts of success from The Planets, and grew in fame as his career went on. He died in London at age 59 from Heart