However, he did have a bit of a point \u2013 for all the efforts of Parry<\/a><\/strong>, Sullivan and co, Britain\u2019s output over the past century or two had been fairly paltry compared to that of his own country. <\/span><\/p>\n Schmitz\u2019s timing, though, proved deliciously misguided. His fellow German Richard Strauss had already started to sing the praises of Elgar \u2013 from whom two symphonies and a Violin Concerto would shortly follow \u2013 and within the next decade, Vaughan Williams would write his own first two symphonies plus the groundbreaking Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis<\/i>, while Holst would begin work on The Planets<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n At the premiere of VW\u2019s Fantasia<\/i> in 1910 were Howells and Gurney, just two of a flurry of fine composers who would drive British music on into the 20th century, and the work itself draws inspiration from the Renaissance<\/a><\/strong>, when Britain comfortably rivalled its European counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, the British composing scene is as strong as ever. But who are the greatest composers the country has ever produced? We asked 167 of today\u2019s leading musicians to have their say, with five votes each, based on the criteria of originality, influence, technique and, of course, sheer enjoyability to listen to and perform. We then totted up the votes to draw up the following Top 25 British composers, in reverse order\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Born: <\/span>Hertfordshire, England<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n When discussions of great 20th-century string quartet cycles come up, those of Bart\u00f3k and Shostakovich are usually in pole position. The 13 quartets of Elizabeth Maconchy (left), however, deserve to keep similar company. <\/span><\/p>\n Written across half-a-century, Maconchy\u2019s quartets tend towards economy and drama, packing plenty of impact into short movements. They also mix influences from across Europe: the angular soundworlds of Bart\u00f3k<\/a><\/strong> and Berg<\/a><\/strong>, the punch and pizzazz of Britten, and more lyrical sections evoking her own Irish heritage. Now add to that a wealth of orchestral works and songs, plus a handful of operas including the quirky and risqu\u00e9 The Sofa <\/i>of 1956, and you have quite a portfolio.<\/span><\/p>\n In her own words: \u2018For me, the best music is an impassioned argument.\u2019 <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Born: <\/span>Gloucestershire, England<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Hearing a critic shout \u2018Thank God that\u2019s over\u2019 in response to the world premiere of his Second Piano Concerto in 1925 may have put the brakes on Howells<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s (below) career as an orchestral composer, but it also effectively set him in a new direction, in which he would prove pre-eminent. <\/span><\/p>\n Channelling his efforts into choral music, he would produce a string of masterful liturgical settings for the likes of St Paul\u2019s and Gloucester cathedrals and King\u2019s College, Cambridge, in each instance shaping the phrasing and texture of the music to suit specifically the building it was written for. <\/span><\/p>\n His masterpiece, meanwhile, was the large-scale Hymnus Paradisi<\/i>, spurred by the tragic death of his nine-year-old son Michael in 1935. He did not entirely abandon non-choral music, however\u2026 and who could possibly not like a composer who, in 1933, wrote a ballet called Penguinski<\/i>?<\/span><\/p>\n In his own words: \u2018I have never been able to compose a note of music without either a place or a building in my mind.\u2019<\/i><\/span><\/p>\nBest British composers of all time<\/h2>\n
22<\/span>= <\/span>Elizabeth Maconchy<\/span> (1907-94)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n
22<\/span>= <\/span>Herbert Howells<\/span> (1892-1983)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n
![\""Howells\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/24\/2020\/05\/Herbie_200-5f63196.jpg?quality=90&resize=200%2C200"\" "\\"\"Howells\\"")
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