 He secured an occasional engagement in symphony concerts, playing in 1897 under the baton of Richard Strauss at the Queen's Hall.Like many musicians of his generation, Holst came under Wagner's spell.He had recoiled from the music of "Götterdämmerung" when he heard it at Covent Garden in 1892, but encouraged by his friend and fellow-student Fritz Hart he persevered and quickly became an ardent Wagnerite.