Joseph Charles Holbrooke (1878 1958) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was sometimes referred to as the cockney Wagner. Holbrooke studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he won the Lucas Prize and the Sterndale Bennett Scholarship. His reputation before World War I was that of a quite promising and controversial young composer. Elgar expressed approval of his works. Commissions played a large role in his early career. He was paid to write several large work...