Holst, Gustav, 1874-1934, English composer, studied at the Royal College of Music. Grieg, Richard Strauss, and Ralph Vaughan Williams influenced his early work, but most of his music is highly original. Outstanding compositions are The Planets (1918), a suite for orchestra; The Hymn of Jesus (1920), for chorus and orchestra; The Perfect Fool (1923), an opera; and Egdon Heath (1928), an orchestral piece.