A musician of great versatility, the English composer Richard Rodney Bennett studied in London with Lennox Berkeley and Howard Ferguson, and subsequently with Pierre Boulez. In addition to his very varied work as a composer, he is also known as a pianist, not least in jazz performances. He was made a CBE in 1977 and knighted in 1999.

Operas, Ballet and Film Music

Bennett’s operas date from the 1960s and include the powerful The Mines of Sulphur as well as Victory, based on Conrad. His ballet score Isadora was written in 1980. His film music includes scores for Far from the Madding Crowd, Murder on the Orient Express and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Orchestral and Chamber Music

Bennett wrote concertos for a number of different instruments, including two piano concertos and concertos for violin, viola, oboe, saxophone, double bass, horn and bassoon. There is a similarly wide range of scoring in his chamber music, which includes a Guitar Concerto and a Sonatina for the same instrument.