John Ireland 1879–1962

Extract

John Ireland, one of our most distinguished Grand Old Men of music, died on 12 June, at the age of 82. His contemporaries were Vaughan Williams, Bax, Gordon Jacob, the neglected Cyril Scott, and Havergal Brian, whose Gothic Symphony was given its première here recently, some forty years after it was written! England is not an easy country to be born into as a composer, and Ireland had a hard struggle to support himself. He went to the Royal College of Music on a scholarship at the age of 14, and kept himself alive by playing at Smoking Concerts (he was a fine pianist), teaching and coaching.