Granville Bantock

Granville Bantock was a British composer and conductor, who emerged as a prominent figure in the late Romantic era, contributing significantly to the landscape of classical music in the early 20th century. His compositions, often characterized by their rich orchestration and a fascination with exoticism, reflect a unique blend of British and international influences.

He was born on August 7, 1868, in London, England, though his father was a prominent Scottish surgeon. He initially trained for the Indian Civil Service, but his poor health made that a problematic career path. He grew interested in music quite late on, therefore, and only entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1889. After his four years there, he became a conductor before, in 1908, being appointed Peyton Professor of Music at Birmingham University, succeeding Elgar in the post. He retained it until retiring in 1934. He wasn't to die, however, until 16th October 1946. [...] 

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Jonathan Leshnoff

Probably the only composer in my collection who's not only still alive -but who is also considerably younger than myself! Jonathan was born in 1973 in New Jersey (i.e., he's American!) You can tell his relative youth, because he's got his own website, complete with more biographical details than is probably strictly required! A common thread in the various bits of criticism about his music I've read is the word 'lyrical', from which I guess we are to deduce he's modern but tuneful and definitely not dodecaphonic 🙂

I only have a handful of his compositions in my collection at the time of writing, but I like all that I've acquired -and he's definitely someone I'd want to collect more of in the future. [...] 

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