Roger Quilter

Roger Cuthbert Quilter was a British composer, known particularly for his art songs. His songs, which number over a hundred, often set music to text by William Shakespeare and are a mainstay of the English art song tradition.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Roger Quilter.

From the period sources

Roger Quilter was counted among the “most gifted pupils” of Iwan Knorr, the principal teacher of composition at the Hoch Conservatorium in Frankfort-on-Main, according to Grove’s Dictionary (1906). Knorr, who himself had studied with Ignaz Moscheles, Richter, and Carl Reinecke, and whose work was highly praised by Brahms, was noted for his “broad minded” approach to music, preferring “the school of experience and the ‘eternal laws’ to the set ‘rules’ of composition.” His teaching philosophy held that “in harmony all is good that seems good to the thoroughly educated ear, whether it conform to the rules or not.” Quilter was also recognized as one of a “band of earnest young song-writers” in the early 20th century, whose generation was lauded for the “pains and skill bestowed upon the accompaniments of their songs,” which were “rightly held to be an integral part of the whole composition,” as noted in Grove’s Dictionary (1908 and 1922). However, detailed criticism of his work was deferred, with the observation that “Time alone is the true touchstone of merit.”