English Musical Renaissance

The term English Musical Renaissance refers to a musical movement in the late 19th and early 20th century, when British composers, often those lecturing or trained at the Royal College of Music, were said to have freed themselves from foreign musical influences, to have begun writing in a distinctively national idiom, and to have equaled the achievement of composers in mainland Europe. The idea gained considerable currency at the time, with support from prominent music critics, but since the latter part of the 20th century the validity of these claims been challenged by some scholars.

The term was (and is) sometimes also used to encompass the expansion of the culture of classical music which took place in Britain in this era, including the burgeoning choral societies, the establishment of new professional orchestras, and the introduction of music education into the school system.

Among the composers championed by proponents of the theory were Hubert Parry, Charles Villiers Stanford and Alexander Mackenzie. Writers who propounded the theory included Francis Hueffer and J A Fuller Maitland.