Kenneth Leighton
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Leighton was a British composer and pianist. His compositions include much Anglican church music, and many pieces for choir and for piano as well as concertos, symphonies, much chamber music and an opera. He wrote a well-known setting of the Coventry Carol
. He spent his last 18 years as Professor of Music at Edinburgh University
.
, Yorkshire
on 2 October 1929. He attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School
and became a chorister at Wakefield Cathedral
. As well as singing, he took piano lessons and gained his Licentiate of the Royal College of Music
(LRAM
) in piano performance in 1946.
He went to Queen's College, Oxford in 1947 on a Hastings
Scholarship to study Classics. At the same time, he continued to study music, his teachers including the composer Bernard Rose
, and he gained two degrees: a BA in Classics in 1950, and a BMus in 1951. In 1951 he also won the Mendelssohn Scholarship
for his Symphony for Strings, Opus 3, and his cantata Hippolytus. The Scholarship enabled him to travel to Rome to study with Goffredo Petrassi
. In Rome he met his first wife, Lydia Vignapiano.
On his return from Italy in 1952, he began teaching at the Royal Marine School of Music in Deal
, then in 1953 he became composer-in-residence at Leeds University
on three-year Gregory Scholarship. In 1956 he moved to be a lecturer at Edinburgh University
, becoming a senior lecturer in 1963 and a reader in 1967. After a brief spell at Worcester College, Oxford University
between 1968 and 1970, he returned to Edinburgh as Reid Professor of Music.
He married his second wife Josephine Anne Prescott in 1981. He held his position at Edinburgh until his death from cancer in 1988.
, Britten
, and Walton
. His studies in Italy exposed him to the work of Schoenberg
, Webern, and Berg
and his later work was strongly influenced by serialism
, while retaining a strong sense of melody.
He composed a wide variety of musical forms for many different configurations of musicians, often for specific occasions or performers, and his best known works include Anglican church music, choral music and piano music. His single most widely known piece is Lully, Lulla, Thou Little Tiny Child, Opus 25b, his setting of the Coventry Carol
, which he composed as a student in 1948.
The premiere commercial recording of Leighton's Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor, op.11 (in its 1959 revised version publ. Novello) has been made by Cameo Classics. The soloist was British concert pianist Angela Brownridge, who studied with Leighton at Edinburgh University. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by its Musical Director Michael Laus for the recording made in June 2011. The CD release is in October 2011.
Coventry Carol
The "Coventry Carol" is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew...
. He spent his last 18 years as Professor of Music at Edinburgh University
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
Biography
Leighton was born in WakefieldWakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
on 2 October 1929. He attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School is an independent school in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. QEGS is distinct from most other schools in that it was founded by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1591 at the request of leading citizens in Wakefield 75 in total and some of whom formed the...
and became a chorister at Wakefield Cathedral
Wakefield Cathedral
Wakefield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of All Saints Wakefield is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of Wakefield and is the seat of the Bishop of Wakefield. The cathedral has Anglo Saxon origins and the tallest cathedral spire in Yorkshire...
. As well as singing, he took piano lessons and gained his Licentiate of the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
(LRAM
LRAM
LRAM is an abbreviation for Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music. This professional diploma was formerly open to both internal students of the Royal Academy of Music and external candidates in voice, keyboard and orchestral instruments and guitar, as well as conducting and other musical...
) in piano performance in 1946.
He went to Queen's College, Oxford in 1947 on a Hastings
Lady Elizabeth Hastings
Lady Elizabeth Hastings , known as Lady Betty, was a benefactor and the daughter of the 7th Earl of Huntingdon. Her brother George became the 8th Earl. On her father's death in 1701 her brother passed on to her the estate of Ledston or Ledstone Hall, near Castleford, West Yorkshire, and she lived...
Scholarship to study Classics. At the same time, he continued to study music, his teachers including the composer Bernard Rose
Bernard Rose (musician)
Bernard William George Rose, OBE was variously a student at the Royal College of Music 1933-1935, organist, soldier, and composer...
, and he gained two degrees: a BA in Classics in 1950, and a BMus in 1951. In 1951 he also won the Mendelssohn Scholarship
Mendelssohn Scholarship
The Mendelssohn Scholarship refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer, Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to continue their development.-History:...
for his Symphony for Strings, Opus 3, and his cantata Hippolytus. The Scholarship enabled him to travel to Rome to study with Goffredo Petrassi
Goffredo Petrassi
Goffredo Petrassi was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century.-Life:...
. In Rome he met his first wife, Lydia Vignapiano.
On his return from Italy in 1952, he began teaching at the Royal Marine School of Music in Deal
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
, then in 1953 he became composer-in-residence at Leeds University
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
on three-year Gregory Scholarship. In 1956 he moved to be a lecturer at Edinburgh University
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, becoming a senior lecturer in 1963 and a reader in 1967. After a brief spell at Worcester College, Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
between 1968 and 1970, he returned to Edinburgh as Reid Professor of Music.
He married his second wife Josephine Anne Prescott in 1981. He held his position at Edinburgh until his death from cancer in 1988.
Music
Leighton's early work was influenced by English church music and by the work of English composers of the time, particularly Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, and Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
. His studies in Italy exposed him to the work of Schoenberg
Schoenberg
Schoenberg is the surname of several persons:* Arnold Schoenberg , Austrian-American composer* Claude-Michel Schoenberg , French record producer, actor, singer, popular songwriter, and musical theatre composer...
, Webern, and Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
and his later work was strongly influenced by serialism
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
, while retaining a strong sense of melody.
He composed a wide variety of musical forms for many different configurations of musicians, often for specific occasions or performers, and his best known works include Anglican church music, choral music and piano music. His single most widely known piece is Lully, Lulla, Thou Little Tiny Child, Opus 25b, his setting of the Coventry Carol
Coventry Carol
The "Coventry Carol" is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew...
, which he composed as a student in 1948.
The premiere commercial recording of Leighton's Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor, op.11 (in its 1959 revised version publ. Novello) has been made by Cameo Classics. The soloist was British concert pianist Angela Brownridge, who studied with Leighton at Edinburgh University. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by its Musical Director Michael Laus for the recording made in June 2011. The CD release is in October 2011.
Awards
- 1951 - Mendelssohn ScholarshipMendelssohn ScholarshipThe Mendelssohn Scholarship refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer, Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to continue their development.-History:...
- 1956 - Busoni PrizeFerruccio Busoni International Piano CompetitionThe Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition is a music competition for young pianists that takes place in Bolzano, Italy.-History: The first Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition was organized by Cesare Nordio in 1949 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the death of pianist and...
for composition - 1960 - National Federation of Music Societies Prize for the best choral work of the year
- 1965 - City of TriesteTriesteTrieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
First Prize for a new symphonic work (1965) - 1966 - Bernhard SprengelBernhard SprengelDr Bernhard Sprengel was a German chocolate manufacturer and modern art collector.Sprengel studied at the Goethe school, and later took courses in political science. In May 1919 he became one of the first new members of the Corps Holsatia following the First World War...
Prize for chamber music (1966) - 1967 - CobbettWalter Willson CobbettWalter Willson Cobbett CBE was a British businessman and amateur violinist, and editor/author of Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music. He also endowed the Cobbett Medal for services to Chamber Music....
Medal for distinguished services to chamber music (1967)