An English composer, born 29 January 1862 in
Bradford, died 10 June 1934 in
Grez-sur-Loing, near
Fontainebleau. He is known for a wide range of music, but typically of a
pastoral character.
As a young man he went to Florida to grow oranges, before turning his hand to music, studying briefly at Leipzig. He became friends with Edvard Grieg in 1887, and lived in France from 1889. On his 1897 marriage to the painter Jelka Rosen they moved to Grez-sur-Loing. After 1922 he was crippled by ill-health, both paralysis and blindness; but he could continue to work thanks to the young composer Eric Fenby, who stayed with them from 1928. The work of Delius was especially championed by Sir Thomas Beecham.
His operas include A Village Romeo and Juliet (1901, containing the Walk to the Paradise Garden), Koanga (1897), and Fennimore and Gerda. Suites and orchestral works include On hearing the first cuckoo in spring, Over the hills and far away, Brigg Fair, and In a Summer Garden.