Gustav Holst

CHELTENHAM CHILDHOOD

Gustav Holst (originally named Gustavus Theodor von Holst) was born on September 21, 1874 in Cheltenham, at what was then known as 4 Pittville Terrace, Clarence Road, as the first of two children to Adolph and Clara von Holst. Today his birthplace is a museum in his memory, bearing a plaque unveiled in 1949 by his lifelong friend, composer Vaughan Williams. Holst's grandfather, Gustavus von Holst of Riga, Latvia, composer of elegant music for the harp, moved to England and became a fashionable harp teacher. Holst's father was an accomplished pianist and an organist at the All Saints' Church. Holst's mother, a singer, died soon after the birth of her second child, when Gustav was only eight. Holst's father's sister Nina was brought in to look after the children and in 1882