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SIR RICHARD RODNEY BENNETT
December 1999
Richard Rodney Bennett was born in Broadstairs, Kent, in 1936. He began to write music before the age of six, perhaps due in part to the creative influences of his family background: his mother was a composer/pianist and student of Gustav Holst, and his father a well-known author of children's books.
In 1953 he was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with Lennox Berkeley and Howard Ferguson. A further scholarship from the government of France brought him to Paris, where he became the first pupil of Pierre Boulez. He received the Arnold Bax Society Prize in 1964 and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Award for Composer of the Year in 1965. He was composer-in-residence at the Peabody Institute in 1970-71. In 1977 Bennett was appointed a CBE; two years later he moved from London to New York City, where he now resides.
Richard Rodney Bennett, who celebrated his 60th Birthday in March 1996, is one of the most versatile of British composer/performers, at home both in the concert hall and in the world of jazz. During his birthday season a series of high-profile events marked his achievements. In the autumn of 1995 he took up the International Chair of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music and during 1995/6 his Partita was played by 17 different UK orchestras as part of the prestigious BT Celebration Series.
Bennett's concert works have always been known for their richness of invention and development. Using as starting points such diverse inspirations as Debussy, Joplin, Monteverdi, the signs of the zodiac, the poetry of Rilke and Herrick, Greek legend, and Kandinsky. Bennett has fashioned a body of work - more than 30 concert pieces - that bears his signature of conviction, balance and elegance. Recently his style has become ever more romantic and lyrical within a contemporary framework. In his catalogue can be found such variety as a Percussion Concerto (written for Evelyn Glennie), Morning Music for symphonic band, Lovesongs of e. e.cummings for tenor and orchestra (written for Robert Tear), Carols for SATE chorus, Guitar Concerto (dedicated to and performed by Julian Bream), and Six Tunes for the Instruction of Singing Birds for solo flute.
Highlights of recent seasons include the distinction of having two world premieres on the same concert at the Proms in London: the first, a BBC commission, Variations on a Nursery Tune, and the second, Concerto for Stan Getz, which was written at Getz's request, but which he did not live to perform at a concert planned in Los Angeles. In addition, 1992 saw the world premiere of Bennett's Celebration by the Maryland Symphony Orchestra who commissioned it for their 10th anniversary season in concerts conducted by Barry Tuckwell, a frequent recital partner for a number of years, and also the premiere of Sermons and Devotions, a work commissioned and dedicated to the King's Singers in commemoration of their 25th anniversary season. The 1993/94 season included the world premiere of Arethusa performed by An Die Musik at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City.
More recent works include Calico Pie, a setting for chorus a cappella of five poems of Edward Lear for Stephen Wilkinson and the William Byrd Singers, premiered in May 1995 at the Royal Northern College of Music and Reflections on a 16th Century Tune, commissioned by the European String Teachers' Association 1999. As a jazz pianist, singer and composer, Bennett has toured extensively, made several recordings with jazz artists, and appears as a soloist at jazz clubs in New York, London and elsewhere.
In the past, Bennett has also accompanied many artists and appeared as a soloist with orchestras in contemporary works. In 1980 he stepped in for the soloist at the premiere of his own concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra, commissioned and performed by the Saint Louis Symphony. Numerous other organizations have also commissioned and performed his works, such as the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony, the London Philharmonic, and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, with conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Neville Marriner, Leonard Slatkin, Antal Dorati, Michael Tilson Thomas, James DePriest, and David Atherton.
Another avenue for Bennett's talent, the composing of music for film and television, has brought Oscar nominations for three of his film scores: 'Murder on the Orient Express', 'Nicholas and Alexandra', and 'Far from the Madding Crowd.' His more recent scores are for film 'Swann' and the BBC drama 'Gormenghast' to be shown in January 2000.
Richard Rodney Bennett received a knighthood in the 1998 New Year honors list for services to music and in 1999 he was appointed President of the Britten Sinfonia.
For further information, please contact Catherine Marmers on 0171 432 4218; email: catherine_marmers@musicsales.co.uk
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