Hamish MacCunn (1868–1916) was a Scottish composer, conductor, and teacher best known for his orchestral works that celebrate Scottish landscapes and folklore. Born in Greenock, he showed prodigious musical talent from an early age and won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London at just 15. There, he studied composition under Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford, developing a style influenced by both Germanic symphonic traditions and British nationalism. His overture The Land of the Mountain and the Flood (1887), composed when he was only 19, became his most enduring work, vividly evoking Scotland’s natural beauty.

MacCunn’s career encompassed composition, conducting, and teaching. He wrote several operas, including Jeanie Deans (1894) and Diarmid (1897), which drew on Scottish literary and historical themes. Though his operas never gained the same lasting popularity as his orchestral works, they demonstrated his commitment to a distinctly Scottish musical identity. He also conducted widely, working with London’s Carl Rosa Opera Company and other ensembles. Despite his early success, MacCunn struggled to maintain a prominent compositional career, as the British musical scene was increasingly dominated by composers such as Edward Elgar.

Later in life, MacCunn became more focused on teaching, holding positions at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music. While his later compositions received little attention, his influence endured through his students and his contributions to British opera and orchestral music. He died in 1916 at the age of 48, leaving behind a body of work that, while often overlooked, remains significant in the landscape of British Romantic music. Today, his best-known piece, The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, continues to be performed and appreciated as a quintessentially Scottish orchestral work.