Havergal Brian

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Havergal Brian" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Havergal Brian
Havergal Brian, c. 1900
Born	William Havergal Brian (1876-01-29)29 January 1876 Dresden, Staffordshire, England
Died	28 November 1972(1972-11-28) (aged 96) Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England
Notable work	Symphony No. 1, The Gothic The Tigers

William Havergal Brian (29 January 1876 – 28 November 1972) was an English composer, librettist, and church organist.^[1]

He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies—an unusually high number amongst his contemporaries—25 of them after the age of 70. His best-known work is his Symphony No. 1, The Gothic, which calls for some of the largest orchestral forces demanded by a conventionally structured concert work.

He also composed five operas and a number of other orchestral works, as well as songs, choral music and a small amount of chamber music. Brian enjoyed a period of popularity earlier in his career and rediscovery in the 1950s, but public performances of his music have remained rare and he has been described as a cult composer.^[2] He continued to be extremely productive late into his career, composing large works even into his nineties, most of which remained unperformed during his lifetime.