Portal:Cheshire/Selected biography/3

Sir Adrian Cedric Boult (8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Born in Chester, he was educated at Westminster School, Christ Church, Oxford, and the Leipzig Conservatory, where he learned to conduct by watching the eminent Hungarian conductor Arthur Nikisch. He made his concert debut in 1914, and conducted the first performance of Holst's The Planets in 1918.

Boult conducted the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 1924–30 and 1959–60, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for twenty years from its inception in 1930. After his controversial enforced retirement from the BBC Symphony, he became Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he held until 1957. He continued to conduct and make recordings until 1981.

Particularly associated with 20th century British music, Boult's prolific recordings include the complete Vaughan Williams symphonies, as well as many works by Elgar and Holst. The main auditorium (pictured) of the Birmingham Conservatoire was named for him.

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