Edmund Rubbra (1901 – February 14, 1986) was a British composer.

Rubbra was born in Northampton, England. He worked as a railwayman after leaving school, then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he studied under Gustav Holst, Cyril Scott and Ralph Vaughan Williams. While in the army during World War II, Rubbra founded a piano trio. After the war, he became a music lecturer at Oxford. In 1948, he converted to Roman Catholicism.

Rubbra's musical output included eleven symphonies, four string quartets and three concertos.

Selected worklist

• Symphonies
  • Symphony no. 1, op. 44
  • Symphony no. 2, D, op. 45
  • Symphony no. 3, op. 49
  • Symphony no. 4, op. 53
  • Symphony no. 5, B-flat, op. 63
  • Symphony no. 6, op. 80
  • Symphony no. 7, C, op. 88
  • Symphony no. 8, op. 132, Hommage à Teilhard de Chardin
  • Symphony no. 9, op. 140, Resurrection
  • Symphony no. 10, op. 145, da Camera
  • Symphony no. 11, op. 153, à Colette

• Concerti
  • for piano (withdrawn), op. 30
  • sinfonia concertante, C, op. 38
  • for viola, A, op. 75
  • for piano, G, op. 85
  • for violin, A, op. 103
  • (also other concerted works — soliloquy with cello, improvisation with violin)

• Sonatas
  • violin, no. 1, op. 11
  • violin, no. 2, op. 31
  • violoncello, G, op. 60
  • oboe, C, op. 100
  • violin, no. 3, op. 133

• chamber works
  • string quartet no. 1, f, op. 35
  • piano trio in one movement (no. 1), op. 68
  • string quartet no. 2, E-flat, op. 73
  • string quartet no. 3, op. 112
  • piano trio no. 2, op. 138
  • string quartet no. 4, op. 150
  • duo, for cor anglais and piano, op. 156

Books

• Foreman, Lewis, ed. Edmund Rubbra, composer : essays : with an introd. by Sir Adrian Boult & three specially commissioned drawings of Dr. Rubbra by Richard Walker. Rickmansworth: Triad Press: 1977. ISBN 0902070215.
• Grover, Ralph Scott. The Music of Edmund Rubbra. Brookfield, Vt. : Ashfield Publishing Co. ISBN 0859679101. Includes a worklist.