Harty, Sir Hamilton (1879-1941), was an Irish composer, conductor, and pianist. His compositions, such as Comedy Overture (1907), and his arrangements of Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks by the German-born composer George Frideric Handel are light in mood and show skillful orchestration. Harty loved Irish folksongs and wrote fine settings of many of them. Harty conducted the Halle Orchestra in Manchester between 1920 and 1933, raising the orchestra to a new level of excellence. He also conducted the London Symphony Orchestra and the British Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra. Harty conducted the English premieres of many works by noted composers of the 1900’s, including William Walton of England, Dimitri Shostakovich of Russia, and Gustav Mahler of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic).
Herbert Hamilton Harty was born on Dec. 4, 1879, in Hillsborough, County Down, Ireland. He moved to London in 1900 and gained a reputation as a composer and piano accompanist. Harty was knighted in 1925. He died on Feb. 19, 1941.
