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Peter Warlock
October 30, 1894 - December 17, 1930
born in London, England, composed during the Modern period
Biography
Peter Warlock was born Philip Heseltine in the Savoy Hotel, the only son of a London solicitor. His father died when he was two, and Heseltine was raised by his mother. He was educated in the English public schools, and was encouraged in his passion for music by a teacher at Eton, Colin Taylor. Outside of that, he had little or no significant musical training. In 1908, Heseltine discovered the music of Frederick Delius and was enraptured by his work; upon meeting Delius in 1911, a lifelong friendship ensued. Heseltine entered Oxford in 1913, but soon dropped out, relocating to London to work as music critic for the Daily Mail. With the outbreak of war, Heseltine was deemed unfit for military duty. In 1916 adopted the pen name "Peter Warlock" amid a host of others used in his criticism. When he began to compose seriously around 1918, this was the pseudonym that Heseltine favored for his original work.

In 1918, Warlock and composer Cecil Gray undertook publication of The Sackbut, a periodical dedicated to informed and lively discussion of the contemporary music world. Warlock held this post until the magazine was absorbed into the house of publisher J.C. Curwen in 1921. Warlock also turned his attention to English music of past eras, particularly that of the Elizabethan age.