A self-taught musician, Brian earned his living as a clerk while he participated in amateur groups and served as a critic for the Manchester Musical World. A prolific composer, Brian first gained attention with his partsong Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? This eventually became a festival piece and led to further partsong commissions. Brian began composing large-scale choral and orchestral works in the early 1900's, and the success of First English Suite gained him an anonymous patron. The patron supported Brian's decision to give up his regular employment and paid for the publication of his orchestral compositions. Performances of his work fell off, and the patron withdrew support except for a stipend of six pounds per month. Brian moved to London and finding neither work nor recognition, contemplated suicide. He spent most of the war years as a copyist and finishing some of his larger works. After the war, Brian produced the greatest volume of music of his career, including 27 symphonies and four operas. His work is complex and heavily orchestrated, which might account for the fact that it is rarely performed. When it is performed, it is most often by amateur groups, and the complexity makes this difficult. Brian was influenced by Strauss and wrote in a grandiose, tonal and freely polyphonic style. The years of neglect of his work led him to write for himself, not the hypothetical listener. ~ Lynn Vought, Rovi