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Sir Richard Rodney Bennett
(born March 29, 1936, Broadstairs,
Kent
, England—died December 24, 2012,
New York
, New York, U.S.) was a
prolific
and highly versatile British composer and
pianist
known for his innovative approach to
12-tone
and
serial
composition—particularly in his concert works. He also won acclaim for his film scores and was widely recognized for his solo and collaborative work as a
jazz
musician.
Bennett was born into a creative family. His father wrote children’s books, and his mother was a pianist, vocalist, and composer who had studied with the well-known British composer
Gustav Holst
. Bennett showed an extraordinary aptitude and
affinity
for a broad range of musical styles at a very young age, and in 1953 he received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London. While a student, Bennett composed a number of noteworthy pieces, including
Sonata for Piano
(1954), which was published when he was still a teenager. In 1957–59 he lived in
Paris
, having received a scholarship from the French government to study with the French composer
Pierre Boulez
.
Upon his return to
England
, Bennett began to emerge as one of the most versatile and talented of the avant-garde British composers. His works include
chamber
, solo
vocal
, and
choral music
;
operas
,
symphonies
, and
concertos
; and scores for films and television. Looking to expand his musical horizons, he moved in 1979 to
New York City
, which remained his home for the remainder of his life, except for a period in the 1990s when he returned to London to hold the international
chair
of
composition
at the Royal Academy of Music.
Among Bennett’s most notable
compositions
in the classical vein are the operas
The Mines of Sulphur
(1965),
A Penny for a Song
(1966),
All the King’s Men
(1968), and
Victory
(1970); the choral work
Spells
(1975); the orchestral piece
Music for Strings
(1978); and the
ballet
Isadora
(1981). Bennett’s best-known works, however, are his movie scores. In 1975 his score for
Murder on the Orient Express
(1974) won a film
music
award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), and in 1995 his music for
Four Weddings and a Funeral
(1994) won an ASCAP award in the category of top box-office films.
Aside from his work as a composer, Bennett regularly performed
popular music
and jazz as a singer and pianist, frequently
collaborating
with prominent jazz artists such as British vocalist
Cleo Laine
and American singer Chris Connor. He also
cultivated
a successful
cabaret
-style solo act in the 1990s. For his distinguished service to the arts as a whole, Bennett was made a
Commander of the British Empire
(CBE) in 1977, and in 1998 he was knighted.
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