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Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (May 12, 1903 – December 26, 1989) was an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
.

Biography
He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School
Dragon School

The Dragon School is a United Kingdom coeducational, Preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877. The school accepts pupils from the age of 8 through to 13 , although an associated 'pre-prep', Lynams, accepts children from age 4 to the age of 8....
, Gresham's School
Gresham's School

Gresham?s School is a Independent school coeducational boarding school at Holt, Norfolk in North Norfolk, England, a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
 and Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford

Merton College is one of the Colleges of Oxford University of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III of England and later to Edward I of England, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it....
. In 1927, he went to Paris to study music with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger was an influential French composer, conducting, and music professor. An outstanding music educator at the highest level, she taught many of the most important composers and conductors of the 20th century....
, and there he became acquainted with Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc

Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a France composer and a member of the French group Les Six. He composed music in all major genres, including art song, chamber music, oratorio, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music....
, Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer, considered by many to be the most influential composer of 20th century music. He was a quintessentially Cosmopolitanism Russian who was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people of the century....
, Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six - also known as the Groupe des Six - and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century....
, Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger

Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les Six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam engine locomotive....
 and Albert Roussel
Albert Roussel

File:Roussel.gifAlbert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a France composer. Although Roussel spent seven years as a midshipman, only turning to music as an adult, he became one of the most prominent French composers of the inter-war period....
. The French influence would continue to be felt in his music. He worked for the BBC during the Second World War, and later became president of the Performing Rights Society.






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Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (May 12, 1903 – December 26, 1989) was an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
.

Biography


He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School
Dragon School

The Dragon School is a United Kingdom coeducational, Preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877. The school accepts pupils from the age of 8 through to 13 , although an associated 'pre-prep', Lynams, accepts children from age 4 to the age of 8....
, Gresham's School
Gresham's School

Gresham?s School is a Independent school coeducational boarding school at Holt, Norfolk in North Norfolk, England, a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
 and Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford

Merton College is one of the Colleges of Oxford University of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III of England and later to Edward I of England, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it....
. In 1927, he went to Paris to study music with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger was an influential French composer, conducting, and music professor. An outstanding music educator at the highest level, she taught many of the most important composers and conductors of the 20th century....
, and there he became acquainted with Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc

Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a France composer and a member of the French group Les Six. He composed music in all major genres, including art song, chamber music, oratorio, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music....
, Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer, considered by many to be the most influential composer of 20th century music. He was a quintessentially Cosmopolitanism Russian who was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people of the century....
, Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six - also known as the Groupe des Six - and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century....
, Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger

Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les Six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam engine locomotive....
 and Albert Roussel
Albert Roussel

File:Roussel.gifAlbert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a France composer. Although Roussel spent seven years as a midshipman, only turning to music as an adult, he became one of the most prominent French composers of the inter-war period....
. The French influence would continue to be felt in his music. He worked for the BBC during the Second World War, and later became president of the Performing Rights Society. He was knighted in 1974. He held the chair of Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a college or university school of music, Britian's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999....
 from 1946 to 1968, and his pupils there included Richard Rodney Bennett
Richard Rodney Bennett

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an England composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works....
, David Bedford
David Bedford

David Vickerman Bedford , is a United Kingdom composer and musician. He has written and played Popular music as well as European classical music music....
 and John Tavener
John Tavener

Sir John Tavener is a United Kingdom composer,British honours systemed in 2000 for his services to music....
. He enjoyed a long association with Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten

Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, Order of Merit Order of the Companions of Honour was an England composer, conducting, viola and pianist....
, another old boy of Gresham's School
Gresham's School

Gresham?s School is a Independent school coeducational boarding school at Holt, Norfolk in North Norfolk, England, a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
, with whom he collaborated on a number of works. In later years, his adoption of serialism
Serialism

In music, serialism is a technique for Musical composition#A musical composition that uses Set to describe Aspect of music, and allows the Permutation of those sets....
 marked a darker and more brooding style.

His son, Michael Berkeley
Michael Berkeley

Michael Berkeley is a United Kingdom composer and broadcaster on music....
, is also a composer.

Career highlights


  • 1926 - began lessons with Nadia Boulanger
    Nadia Boulanger

    Nadia Boulanger was an influential French composer, conducting, and music professor. An outstanding music educator at the highest level, she taught many of the most important composers and conductors of the 20th century....
    .
  • 1936 - met Britten at ISCM Festival in Barcelona
    Barcelona

    Barcelona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous communities of Spain of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008, while the population of the Metropolitan Area was 3,161,081....
    .
  • 1946 - appointed Professor of Composition at London’s Royal Academy of Music
    Royal Academy of Music

    The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a college or university school of music, Britian's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999....
    .
  • 1954 - premiere of his first opera Nelson at Sadler’s Wells.
  • 1974 - knighted for Services to Music.
  • 1977-83 - President of Cheltenham Festival
    Cheltenham Festival

    The Cheltenham Festival is the most prestigious meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom and has race prize money second only to the Grand National....
    .


Works


(selected list)

Opera


  • A Dinner Engagement, op.45 (1954)
  • Ruth, op.50 (1955-6)


Orchestral

  • 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)
  • Look up, sweet babe, op.43 no. 2 (1955)
  • Missa Brevis, op.57 (1960)
  • Mass for five voices, op.64 (1964)
  • Three Latin Motets, op.83 no.1 (1972)
  • The Lord is my shepherd, op.91 no.1 (1975)
  • Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, op.99 (1980)


Solo Vocal

  • 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.58


Chamber

  • String Quartet No. 1, op.6
  • String Quartet No. 2, op.15
  • String Quartet No. 3, op.76
  • Sonata in D Minor for Viola and Piano, Op.22 (1946)
  • Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano, op.44 (1952)
  • Duo for Cello and Piano


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)


Selected recordings

  • - Chandos CHAN10219
  • - Naxos 8.557277
  • - Chandos CHAN 9981


External links