Gustav Holst is a composer nobody seems to know, evne though everyone knows The Planets. This lack of relative fame is a mystery, because the quality of his works for choir and orchestra (including some amazing works for brass orchestra) is often high. Perhaps this can be explained by his aversion to public appearance. After the succes of The Planets he focused on more introvert topics, which resulted among others in his beautiful Hymn of Jesus from 1917. This is typically a work which upon first listening makes you wonder why it's not better known (even though allegedly the work was quite succesful during its own time).
There is, however, also something up with the continuity of Holst as a composer, as if technical challenges stimulated him more than creating a consistent style. Grove music Online quoted Holst's daughter Imogen regarding this remarkable phenomenon: 'As soon as he made his point, he stopped'.
