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Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer.


Biography

Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Charles Harris, former British consul in Monaco, and
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
Captain Hastings George FitzHardinge Berkeley (1855–1934), the illegitimate and eldest son of George Lennox Rawdon Berkeley, the 7th
Earl of Berkeley The title Baron Berkeley originated as a feudal title and was subsequently created twice in the Peerage of England by writ. It was first granted by writ to Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (1245–1321), 6th feudal Baron Berkeley, in ...
(1827–1888). He attended the
Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...
in Oxford, going on to
Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...
, in
Holt, Norfolk Holt is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town has a population of 3,550, rising and including the ward to ...
and St George's School in
Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...
, Hertfordshire. He studied French at
Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...
, Oxford, graduating with a fourth class degree in 1926. While at university he coxed the college
rowing eight An eight is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox". Each of the eight rowers has one oar. The rowers, who sit in ...
. He became an honorary fellow of Merton College in 1974. In 1927, he went to Paris to study music with
Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...
, and there became acquainted with
Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...
,
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
,
Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...
,
Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...
and
Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...
. Berkeley also studied with
Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
, often cited as a key influence in Berkeley's technical development as a composer. In 1936 he met
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
, also a former pupil of
Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...
, at the
ISCM The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...
Festival in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. Berkeley fell in love with Britten, who appears to have been wary of entering a relationship, writing in his diary, "we have come to an agreement on that subject." Nevertheless, the two composers shared a house for a year, living in the Old Mill at Snape, Suffolk, which Britten had acquired in July 1937. They subsequently enjoyed a long friendship and artistic association,
collaborating Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Mos ...
on a number of works; these included the suite of Catalan dances titled '' Mont Juic'', and ''
Variations on an Elizabethan Theme ''Variations on an Elizabethan Theme'' (also seen as ''Variations on Sellinger's Round'') is a set of variations for string orchestra, written collaboratively in 1952 by six English composers: Lennox Berkeley, Benjamin Britten, Arthur Oldham, ...
'' (the latter also with four other composers). He worked for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, where he met his future wife, Elizabeth Freda Bernstein (1923-2016) whom he married on 14 December 1946. Together they had three sons; their eldest son
Michael Berkeley Michael Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Knighton, (born 29 May 1948) is an English composer, broadcaster on music and member of the House of Lords. Early life Berkeley is the eldest of the three sons of Elizabeth Freda (née Bernstein ...
, Baron Berkeley of Knighton, is also a composer, and their youngest son is the photographer
Nick Berkeley Nick Berkeley is an English photographer, film maker and writer. He was born in London in 1956, the youngest son of the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley and brother of Michael Berkeley, the composer and broadcaster. Life and work As a young man B ...
. He wrote several piano works for the pianist
Colin Horsley Colin Robert Horsley (23 April 1920 – 28 July 2012) was a New Zealand classical pianist and teacher who was based in the United Kingdom all his working life. He had a significant artistic association with the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley. Biog ...
, who commissioned the
Horn Trio Horn trio can mean a work written for three horns or horns as well as one for horn and two other instruments. In the latter category, an important genre is the trio for horn, violin and piano. Although there are a few earlier examples, the traditi ...
and some piano pieces, and gave the first performances and/or made the premier recordings of a number of his works, including his third Piano Concerto (1958). He was Professor of Composition in the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
from 1946 to 1968. His students included
Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...
,
David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...
,
Richard Stoker Richard Stoker (8 November 1938 – 24 March 2021) was a British composer, writer, actor and artist. There was a strong musical tradition in Stoker's family, and he showed an early aptitude, intrigued by the piano keyboard as soon as he was tal ...
,
Clive Strutt Clive Edward Hazzard Strutt (born 19 April 1942) is an English composer. He was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, England, and he was educated at Farnborough Grammar School. Strutt lives on the island of South Ronaldsay in Orkney, Scotland. He stu ...
,
John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), '' The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and ''Song ...
and
Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...
. Ferneyhough felt that he learned nothing from Berkeley because of the gap between their musical conceptions, remembering him as "a notably urbane and well-meaning presence" whose "Nadia Boulenger influenced gallic aesthetics were completely unable to deal with my compositional needs." 1954 saw the premiere of his first opera, ''
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
'', at
Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...
. He was knighted in 1974 and from 1977–83 was President of the
Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...
. He resided at 8 Warwick Avenue, London, from 1947 until his death in 1989. On 20 March 1990 a memorial service was held for him at
Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...
, London.


Honours

* 1983 : Member of the
Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, sometimes referred to as ') is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Comm ...
.


Musical style

Berkeley's earlier music is broadly tonal, influenced by the neoclassical music of Stravinsky.He is also well-known for his STABAT choir works. Berkeley's contact and friendship with composers such as Ravel and Poulenc and his studies in Paris with Boulanger lend his music a 'French' quality, demonstrated by its "emphasis on melody, the lucid textures and a conciseness of expression". He maintained a negative view of
atonal Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a ...
music at least up until 1948, when he wrote: However, from the mid-1950s, Berkeley apparently felt a need to revise his style of composition, later telling the Canadian composer,
R. Murray Schafer Raymond Murray Schafer (18 July 1933 – 14 August 2021) was a Canadian composer, writer, music educator, and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book ''The Tuning of th ...
that "it's natural for a composer to feel a need to enlarge his idiom." He started including tone rows and aspects of
serial technique In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were als ...
in his compositions around the time of the Concertino, op. 49 (1955) and the opera ''Ruth'' (1955-6). His shift in opinion was demonstrated in an interview with
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
in 1959:


Works


Opera

* ''
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
'', (1951) * '' A Dinner Engagement'', Op. 45 (1954) * ''Ruth'', Op. 50 (1955–6) * ''
Castaway A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade captors or the world in general. A person may also be left a ...
'', Op. 68 (1967) * ''Faldon Park'', (1979–85). Incomplete.


Orchestral

* '' Mont Juic'', suite of Catalan dances, Op. 9 (written jointly with
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
) * Serenade, for string orchestra (1938–9) * Symphony No. 1 (1936–40) * Divertimento (1943) * Piano Concerto in B-flat major, Op. 29 (1947–8) * Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Op. 30 (1948) * Symphony No. 2 (1958, revised 1976) * Symphony No. 3, in one movement (1968–9) * Sinfonia Concertante, for oboe and chamber orchestra (1972–3) * Voices of the Night, Op. 86 (1973) * Guitar Concerto, Op. 88 * Symphony No. 4 (1977–8)


Choral

* ''A Festival Anthem'', Op. 21, No. 2 (1945) * ''Crux fidelis'', Op. 43, No. 1 (1955) * ''I sing of a maiden'' (1966) * ''Look up, sweet babe'', Op. 43, No. 2 (1955) * ''Missa Brevis'', Op. 57 (1960) * Mass for five voices, Op. 64 (1964) * ''Magnificat'' for chorus and orchestra, Op. 71 (1968) * Three Latin Motets, Op. 83, No. 1 (1972) * ''The Lord is my shepherd'', Op. 91, No. 1 (1975) * ''Magnificat'' and ''Nunc dimittis'' ("Chichester service"), Op. 99 (1980)


Solo vocal

* Five Housman Songs, Op. 14, No. 3 * Four Poems of St Teresa of Ávila, Op. 27, for contralto and string orchestra (1947) * Three Greek Songs, Op. 38 (1953) * Five Poems by W. H. Auden, Op. 53


Chamber

* String Quartet No. 1, Op. 6 (1935) * String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15 (1941) * String Trio, Op. 19 (1943) * Sonata in D minor for viola and piano, Op. 22 (1945) * Introduction and Allegro, for solo violin (1949) (edited by
Ivry Gitlis Ivry Gitlis ( he, עברי גיטליס;‎ 25 August 1922 – 24 December 2020) was an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He performed with the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philh ...
) * Trio for horn, violin and piano, Op. 44 (1952) * Sextet for clarinet, horn and string quartet, Op. 47 (1954) * String Quartet No. 3, Op. 76 (1970) * Introduction and Allegro, for double bass and piano (1972) (for
Rodney Slatford Rodney Slatford OBE (born 18 July 1944) is an English contemporary double bass player and teacher. He was the principal bass player of the Midland Sinfonia, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and English Chamber Orchestra, a founder of the Nas ...
) * Duo for cello and piano * Sonata Op. 97 for flute and piano * Sonatina Op. 13 for recorder and piano * Three Pieces for Solo Viola, WoO (Dedicated to Stephan Deák, discovered 2004.)


Piano

* Three Pieces, Op. 2 (1935) * Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 20 (1941–5) * Six Preludes, Op. 23 (1945) * Three Mazurkas, Op. 31 No. 1 (1939–49)


Guitar

* Quatre pièces pour la guitare (1928) * Sonatina, Op. 52, No. 1 (1957) * Theme and Variations, Op. 77 (1970)


Clarinet

*Three Pieces for Clarinet, (1939)


Flute

* Sonatina for Flute or Treble Recorder and Piano (1940)


Violin

* Theme and Variations (1950)


Film and radio

*Film Scores: ''Sword of the Spirit'', December 1942 ''Out of Chaos'', January 1944, London Symphony orchestra ''
Hotel Reserve ''Hotel Reserve'' is a 1944 British spy film starring James Mason as an innocent man caught up in pre-Second World War espionage. Other cast members include Lucie Mannheim, Raymond Lovell and Herbert Lom. It was based on Eric Ambler's 1938 novel ...
'', June 1944, BBC Northern orchestra/Muir Mathieson ''
The First Gentleman ''The First Gentleman'' is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, and starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Joan Hopkins, and Cecil Parker. It portrays the relationships and marriage of George, Prince Regent and his tense ...
'', April 1948, Royal Philharmonic orchestra/Thomas Beecham, April 1948 ''Youth in Britain'', April 1958 *Radio Scores: Westminster Abbey, 1941, Section of Northern BBC orchestra, London, BBC, 7 September 1941 Yesterday and Today, 1943, Wireless Singers/Father J.  B.  Mc Elligott, Evesham, BBC, 19 April 1942 A Glutton for life, 1946, ad hoc orchestra/Lennox Berkeley, London BBC, 21 November 1946 The wall of Troy, 1946, ad hoc orchestra/Lennox Berkeley, London BBC, 21 November 1946 The Seraphina, 1956, Sinfonia of London/Lennox Berkeley, London BBC, 4 October 1956 Look back to Lyttletoun, 1957, English opera group orchestra, Ambrosian singers/ Norman del Mar, London, BBC, 8 July 1957


See also

* Berkeley Ensemble


References


External links


Lennox Berkeley's homepage at Chester Music

The Lennox Berkeley Society
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Lennox 1903 births 1989 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century English composers English classical composers People from Oxford People educated at The Dragon School People educated at Gresham's School Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Knights Bachelor Composers awarded knighthoods Benjamin Britten Oratorio composers Berkeley family