Roger Steptoe (born 1953) is an English composer and pianist. He studied music at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

as an undergraduate and then at 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 ...

, London, from 1974 to 1977 as a post-graduate student. There he studied composition with

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 ...

and piano accompaniment with Geoffrey Pratley. His String Quartet No. 1 (1976) and the opera ''King of Macedon'' (1978–79, to a libretto by

Ursula Vaughan Williams Joan Ursula Penton Vaughan Williams (née Lock, formerly Wood; 15 March 1911 – 23 October 2007) was an English poet and author, and biographer of her second husband, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Biography Born in Valletta, Malta, th ...

, based on a stage play by Charterhouse school pupil 1973-77 Charles Jockelson) were composed during his time as composer in residence at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

from 1976 to 1979. Between 1980 and 1991 he was professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music. Notable works during this period include the Clarinet Quintet and the solo piano piece ''Equinox'', a series of concertos, and the ''Elegy on the Death and Burial of Cock Robin'' (1988) for counter tenor and strings.Bye, Anthony. 'Sweep and Sublimity', in ''Musical Times'' July 1992, pp. 343-344 As a pianist, Steptoe recorded the first modern performances of the

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

and

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

piano quartets, and in the first recording of the ''Four Last Songs'' by

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. Anthony Bye has described Steptoe's style as "wholeheartedly in the tradition of Vaughan Williams, Finzi,

Howells Howells may refer to: People *Howells (surname) Places in the United States * Howells, Colorado, a place in Colorado *Howells, Nebraska *Howells, New York *Howells Junction, New York, a place in New York Business establishments * Howells (depa ...

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 ...

and Tippett...regenerated with thoroughly contemporary means of expression".

Selected works

Opera

* ''King of Macedon'' (1978–1979); 3 acts; libretto by

* As You Like It, ( 2015-2016 ); 3 Acts; libretto by Lesley Fernández-Armesto; first performed at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, 2016

Orchestral

* ''Cheers!'' (1993) * ''This Side of Winter'' (2002) * ''A Three-Tango Rhapsody'' (2007) * ''Two Miniatures'' for strings (1977)

Concertante

* Concerto for cello and chamber orchestra (1991) * Concerto for clarinet and strings (1989) * Concerto for oboe and strings (1982) * Concerto for tuba and strings (1983) * ''Light'', Sinfonietta for organ and strings (2006–2007)

Chamber music

* Clarinet Quintet (1980) * ''Dance Suite'' for oboe, clarinet and string quartet (1984) * Duo for oboe and harp (1991) * Oboe Quartet (1988–1989) * ''Petite Sonatine 1'' for viola solo (2009); commissioned for the 2010

Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition The Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition is an international music competition for viola players established in 1980 to honor the memory of the English viola virtuoso Lionel Tertis. This triennial event is held at the Erin Arts Centre, P ...

* ''Petite Sonatine 2'' for cello solo (2009) * ''Quatre romances sans paroles'' for piano quartet (2001) * Sonata No.3 for brass quintet (1982) * Sonata for clarinet and piano (2003) * Sonata for trumpet and organ (2008) * Sonata for tuba and piano (2007) * Sonata for viola and piano (2010) * Sonata No.1 for violin and piano (1983) * Sonata No.2 for violin and piano (1986) * String Quartet No.1 (1976) * String Quartet No.2 (1985) * String Quartet No.3 (2002) * String Quartet No.4 (2003) * ''Study'' for solo violin (1978) * ''Three Pieces'' for viola and piano (1982) * ''Two Impromptus'' for solo clarinet (1978) * ''Two Studies'' for bassoon and piano (1983)

Piano

* ''Equinox'' (1981) * Piano Sonata No.1 (1979) * Piano Sonata No.2 (1988) * Piano Sonata No.3 (2003) * ''Three Nocturnes'' (1991) * ''Three Preludes'' (1976)

Vocal

* ''Aspects'' for high voice and piano (1978) * ''The Bond of the Sea'' for bass baritone and piano (1983); text by

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

* ''An Elegy on the Death and Burial of Cock Robin'' for countertenor and 11 solo strings (1988) * ''Five Songs'' for tenor and piano (1976); poems by

Percy Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

and

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

* ''The Looking Glass'' for soprano, oboe and piano (1980); words by

* ''3 Paul Verlaine Songs'' (''3 French Songs'') for mezzo-soprano, viola and piano (2009); words by

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' in international and ...

* ''Three Sonnets to Delia'' for baritone and piano (1993); poems by

Samuel Daniel Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late- Elizabethan and early- Jacobean eras. He was an innovator in a wide range of literary genres. His best-known works are the sonnet cycle ''Delia'', the epi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steptoe, Roger 1953 births English classical pianists Male classical pianists English classical composers English opera composers Male opera composers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Living people English male classical composers British male pianists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century British male musicians