In England, 1934 was the worst of years. Three of the country’s best composers died within a six-month period. “The greatest, Edward Elgar, had been the first to die, full of years and loaded with honours, at his home in Worcester on February 23. Two months later, on May 25, Gustav Holst passed away in a London nursing home aged only 59. And on June 10, Frederick Delius passed away.”