Gerald Raphael [Gerald] Finzi (14/07/1901 - 27/09/1956), an English composer, born in London. He studied composition with Farrar in Harrogate and Bairstow in York, and counterpoint with RO Morris. Deaths of father, three older brothers and teacher introduced theme of the fragility and transience of existence explored in many later works. Early musical influences include Parry, Elgar and Vaughan Williams, and song composers such as Ivor Gurney. He moved to London in 1926 where he befriended Ferguson and Rubbra and met Vaughan Williams, Holst and Bliss. Early successes included the Thomas Hardy cycles A Young Man's Exhortation and Earth and Air and Rain, which established him as a masterly and sensitive setter of poetry - his oeuvre extends to over 100 songs for soloist or choir. Although many works point to his skill as a miniaturist, after World War II he embraced larger forms including Clarinet Concerto, For St Cecilia and Intimations of Immortality. Works are lyrical, subtly understated, often elegiac in tone, mingling human pain and natural beauty. One of most popular of 20th century British composers, in concert and on disc.