Bernard (George) Stevens (2 March 1916 – 6 January 1983) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Life

Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Stevens studied English and Music at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

with E. J. Dent and

Cyril Rootham Cyril Bradley Rootham (5 October 1875 – 18 March 1938) was an English composer, educator and organist. His work at Cambridge University made him an influential figure in English music life. A Fellow of St John's College, where he was also or ...

, then at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

with R. O. Morris and

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...

from 1937 to 1940.'University News', ''The Times'', 19 June 1936, p. 18. His Opus 1, a

violin sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed fo ...

, attracted the attention of

Max Rostal Max Rostal (7 July 1905 – 6 August 1991) was a violinist and a viola player. He was Austrian-born, but later took British citizenship. Biography Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn to a Jewish merchant family. As a child prodigy, he started studyin ...

, who commissioned a Violin Concerto, which Stevens wrote while on army service. In 1946 his First Symphony, entitled ''Symphony of Liberation'', won first prize in a competition sponsored by the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' newspaper for a 'Victory Symphony' to celebrate the end of the war with a premiere at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. In 1948 Stevens was appointed Professor of Composition at the

, a post he combined from 1967 with a professorship at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. As an examiner he travelled widely, especially in Eastern Europe. Although he resigned his membership of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

in protest at the Soviet suppression of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, Stevens was intellectually and emotionally committed to the left and associated with other socialist artists and writers, such as his friends

Alan Bush Alan Dudley Bush (22 December 1900 – 31 October 1995) was a British composer, pianist, conductor, teacher and political activist. A committed communist, his uncompromising political beliefs were often reflected in his music. He composed pro ...

Mary and Geraldine Peppin Mary and Geraldine Peppin (born 30 December 1912) were identical twin sisters, and performers in a classical piano duo active in the UK from the 1930s until the 1960s. Later in life they both became influential piano teachers at the Guildhall Scho ...

Randall Swingler Randall Carline Swingler MM (28 May 1909 – 19 June 1967) was an English poet, writing extensively in the 1930s in the communist interest. Early life and education His was a prosperous upper middle class Anglican family in Aldershot, with an ...

and

Montagu Slater Charles Montagu Slater (23 September 1902 – 19 December 1956) was an English poet, novelist, playwright, journalist, critic and librettist. Life One of five children, Slater was born in the small mining port of Millom, Cumberland facing L ...

, and was active in the Workers' Musical Association. His musical students included British composers

Keith Burstein Keith Burstein born 1957 as Keith Burston (the anglicised form adopted by his father of the surname, which Burstein later dropped) is an English composer, conductor and music theorist with Russian family origins. He is noted for his fervent cha ...

and Michael Finnissy and Canadian composer Hugh Davidson. Stevens died in January 1983, in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, England, survived by his wife Bertha Stevens. In recent years all of Stevens' major orchestral and chamber works have been recorded. Particularly notable is his String Quartet no. 2 of 1962. While, as Malcolm MacDonald states in his 1990 sleeve note for Unicorn-Kanchana, "it is one of three compositions (with Symphony no 2 and the Variations for Orchestra) to display...the internal logic... f Schoenbergian serial techniques," the Second Quartet's language is neither neo-Expressionist or serialist; rather, it uses Schoenberg's fierce logic to create the impression of a seamlessly unfolding tonal song that, creating its own haunting, individual sound world, draws the listener in with its emotional power. The Cello Concerto (1952) attracted the distinguished artist Alexander Baillie as its soloist (accompanied by the BBC Philharmonic under Edward Downes), while the Symphony no.1 (1945), a cry of "Liberation" after Nazism, could seem gestural with its looser structure. However, what strikes the listener is the Symphony's imaginative playfulness, a stylistic approach that could be described as the logic of the unexpected.

Works

Orchestra

Symphonies

* ''A Symphony of Liberation'', Op. 7 (1945) * Symphony No. 2, Op. 35 (1964)

Concertos

* Violin Concerto, Op. 4 (1943) * Cello Concerto, Op. 18 (1952) * Piano Concerto, Op. 26 (1955, rev. 1981)

Other

* ''Ricercar'', Op. 6, for string orchestra (1944) * ''Eclogue'', Op. 8, for small orchestra (1946) * Fugal Overture, Op. 9, for orchestra (1947) * Sinfonietta, Op. 10, for string orchestra (1948) (dedicated to

Norman Fulton (Robert) Norman Fulton (23 January 1909 - 5 August 1980) was an English-born composer, broadcaster and teacher of Scottish ancestry. Life and career Fulton was born in London but educated in Scotland at Glasgow High School. From 1929 until 1933 ...

) * Overture ''East and West'', Op. 16, for wind orchestra (1950) * ''Dance Suite'', Op. 28, for orchestra (1957) * Adagio and Fugue, Op. 31a, for wind orchestra (1959) * Prelude and Fugue, Op. 31b, for orchestra (1960) * Variations, Op. 36, for orchestra (1964) * ''Choriamb'', Op. 41 (1968) * Introduction, Variations and Fugue on a theme of Giles Farnaby, Op. 47, for orchestra (1972)

Opera

* ''Mimosa'', Op. 15, unfinished opera in 3 acts to libretto by

(1950) * ''The Shadow of the Glen'', Op. 50, opera in 1 act to libretto by

J. M. Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...

(1978–79)

Choral

* Mass, for double choir (1938–39) * ''The Harvest of Peace'', Op. 19, cantata for speaker, soprano, baritone, mixed choir and string orchestra to text by

(1952) * ''The Pilgrims of Hope'', Op. 27, cantata for soprano, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra to text by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

(1956, rev. 1968) * ''Thanksgiving'', Op. 37, motet for mixed choir and string orchestra (or organ) to text by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

(1965) * ''Et Resurrexit'', Op. 43, cantata for alto, tenor, mixed choir and orchestra to texts from Ecclesiastes and Randall Swingler (1969) * ''Hymn to Light'', Op. 44, anthem for mixed choir, organ, brass and percussion to text by Rabindranath Tagore (1970)

Vocal

* ''The Palatine Coast: Three Folkish Songs'', Op. 21, for high voice and piano (1952) * ''Two Poetical Sketches'', Op. 32, for female voices and strings to text by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

(1961) * ''The Turning World'', Op. 46, motet for baritone, mixed choir, orchestra and piano to text by Randall Swingler (1971) * ''The True Dark'', Op. 49, song cycle for baritione and piano to text by Randall Swingler (1974)

Chamber

* Violin Sonata, Op. 1 (1940) * Piano Trio, Op. 3 (1942) * Theme and Variations, Op. 11, for string quartet (1949) * Two Fanfares, Op. 12, for four natural trumpets (1949) * Fantasia on a Theme of Dowland, Op. 23, for violin and piano (1953) * Two Improvisations on Folk Songs, Op. 24, for brass quintet (1954) * ''Lyric Suite'', Op. 30, for string trio (1958) * String Quartet No. 2, Op. 34 (1962) * Horn Trio, Op. 38 (1966) * Suite, Op. 40, for flute, oboe, violin, viola da gamba or viola, cello and harpsichord or piano (1967)

Organ

* Fantasia, Op. 39 (1966) * Fughetta (1974)

Piano

* Theme and variations, Op. 2 (1941) * Fantasia on ''The Irish Ho-Hoane'', Op. 13, for piano duet (1949) * Sonata in One Movement, Op. 25 (1954) * Introduction and Allegro, Op. 29, for piano duet (1957) * ''Two Dances'', Op. 33, for piano duet (1962)

Film

* ''

The Upturned Glass ''The Upturned Glass'' is a 1947 British film noir psychological thriller directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring James Mason, Rosamund John and Pamela Kellino. The screenplay concerns a leading brain surgeon who murders a woman he believes ...

'' (1947) * ''

The Mark of Cain The curse of Cain and the mark of Cain are phrases that originated in the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis. In the stories, if someone harmed Cain, the damage would come back sevenfold. Some interpretations view this as a physica ...

'' (1947) * ''

Once a Jolly Swagman ''Once a Jolly Swagman'' is a 1949 British film starring Dirk Bogarde, Bonar Colleano, Bill Owen, Thora Hird and Sid James. It is centred on the sport of motorcycle speedway racing, which was at its peak of popularity at the time. It was relea ...

'' (1948)

References

External links

*
Beginning 4 July 2016, Bernard Stevens was featured as BBC Radio 3's Composer of the week

Russell, Ken. ''Classic Widows'', television documentary, 1995
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Bernard 1916 births 1983 deaths 20th-century classical composers English classical composers British music educators Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of the Royal College of Music Academics of the University of London Musicians from London 20th-century English composers English male classical composers 20th-century British male musicians British Army personnel of World War I British Army soldiers Military personnel from London