Egdon Heath

Gustav Holst (around 1921).

Thomas Hardy (around 1910-15)

Egdon Heath is a symphonic composition by the British composer Gustav Holst .

Emergence

In 1922, Holst accepted an invitation from Thomas Hardy and visited the writer, whose work he had long admired, in Dorset . From this meeting the composition idea for Egdon Heath developed on the basis of Hardy's The Return of the Native . Holst's composition describes the fictional location Egdon Heath from the first chapter of the novel. While working on Egdon Heath , Holst Hardy paid a visit in August 1926; both men went on a trip to the heathland.

effect

The premiere took place - a few weeks after Hardy's death - on February 12, 1927 in New York; Walter Damrosch conducted the New York Symphony Orchestra . On the occasion of the writer's recent death, Holst dedicated the piece to Thomas Hardy. Holst himself conducted the first European performance of the piece with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Cheltenham, while Václav Talich conducted the first London performance in a concert by the Royal Philharmonic Society .

In all three performances, the audience was reluctant to accept the work, partly because it was not familiar with the musical idiom. Even the performing musicians and even the conductor Adrian Boult , who was familiar with Holst's music, were unable to grasp the music immediately. Holst, in turn, was annoyed by the fact that the quote from Hardy's novel, which would have made it much easier to understand the music, had been removed from the program. Holst, who considered every newly composed work to be his best, maintained this opinion in the case of Egdon Heath until his death.

literature

• Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014

Web links

• Egdon Heath : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014, p. 127
2. ↑ Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014, p. 165
3. ↑ Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014, pp. 169–170