Page "Gustav Holst" Paragraph 21

After the lukewarm reception of his choral work The Cloud Messenger in 1912, Holst was again off travelling, financing a trip to Spain with fellow composers Balfour Gardiner and brothers Clifford and Arnold Bax with funds from an anonymous donation.

Despite being shy, Holst was fascinated by people and society, and had always believed that the best way to learn about a city was to get lost in it.

In Girona, Catalonia, he often disappeared, only to be found hours later by his friends having abstract debates with local musicians.

It was in Spain that Clifford Bax introduced Holst to astrology, a hobby that was to inspire the later Planets suite.

He read astrological fortunes until his death, and called his interest in the stars his " pet vice ".