Hugo Vernon Anson was born in New Zealand, on 18 October 1894, and was thus 63 when he died in London on 4 August 1958.

He came to England in 1912 and studied at Trinity College, Cambridge and the RCM where he taught from 1925 and was Registrar from 1939  and followed that with war service in the Admiralty. He composed songs - titles include Full Moon, Last Night and New Zealand - choral music, some it for church use, incidental music, an Idyl and other pieces for violin and piano, cello pieces, a Suite for flute and piano and a String Quartet, but much of his most important work was for piano. This included Five Preludes (1928) with descriptive titles, genre pieces such as The Lonely Sailing Ship and Puck in the Belfry, a doubtless colourful St Tropez Suite for two pianos and, perhaps his chef d'oeuvre, the Concerto for two pianos and string orchestra, premiered by the BBCSO in 1936 and published for the unusual forces of 3 pianos, 6 hands, in the dark days of 1941. Someone must have believed in Anson's music then; precious few have done so since.