Bantock, Sir Granville

▪ English composer

born Aug. 7, 1868, London, Eng.

died Oct. 11, 1946, London

      English composer known especially for his large-scale choral and orchestral works.

      After preparing for the Indian civil service, Bantock studied in London at Trinity College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. He was active as a conductor, founded and edited the New Quarterly Music Review (1893–96), and succeeded Sir Edward Elgar (Elgar, Sir Edward) as professor of music at the University of Birmingham (1907–34). Most of his orchestral works are program music in which Asian and Celtic themes recur. Among his principal works are Atalanta in Calydon (1911) and Vanity of Vanities for unaccompanied voices (1913); the Hebridean Symphony (1916); the large tone poems Dante and Beatrice (1910) and Fifne at the Fair (1912); and the massive Omar Khayyam for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra (1906–09).

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