Henry Holst

Henry Holst (25 July 1899 – 19 October 1991) was a Danish violinist. In his early career he was leader of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler. From the 1930s to the mid-1950s he was based in England, as a soloist and teacher. He held professorships at the Royal Manchester College of Music and the Royal College of Music in London. After 1954 he was based in his native Denmark, where he was professor of violin at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

Holst was born in Sæby, Denmark, the son of Jens Christian Holst (1856–1907) and Elvira Kath Inga Alexandra, née Jakobsen (1864–1943). Holst senior was a schoolmaster and organist, and the household was a highly musical one. In 1913 Holst was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Music where he studied the violin with Axel Gade and the piano and harmony under Carl Nielsen. He made his concert debut at the age of 18 playing Vieuxtemps' first violin concerto and Brahms's first violin sonata. At Gade's instigation he then studied for a year with Emil Telmányi. He moved to Berlin to study with Willy Hess.

In 1921 Holst attracted favourable notice when he played three concertos at one concert with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Two years later, when the post of leader of the orchestra became vacant, Holst won the open competition to fill it. He remained with the orchestra for eight years, playing under Wilhelm Furtwängler and guest conductors including Bruno Walter and Willem Mengelberg.

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