Herbert Menges OBE (27 August 1902 – 20 February 1972) was an English conductor and composer, who wrote incidental music to all of Shakespeare's plays.
[3] He later studied composition at the Royal College of Music under Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
[3] He toured with Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson to Paris, Germany, the Low countries and New York, where he also conducted the CBS Symphony Orchestra.
In 1931 he founded the London Rehearsal Orchestra, whose purpose was to help young musicians learn difficult pieces.
[4] In 1951 he wrote the music for the Laurence Olivier-Vivien Leigh Broadway production of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.
[9] He considered that he had a strong affinity with Bach and conducted the Viennese classics and composers such as Verdi and Tchaikovsky with restraint, while his Brahms and Dvořák are warmer in his interpretations.
[3] A later critic, discussing his recordings, praised the rhythmic acuity, superb internal balance in the orchestra and the precision of attack he achieved, comparing his approach with Paul Paray and Pierre Monteux.