Bennett: Orchestral Works Vol 1
21st November 2017
Volume One is now available and features Celebration (1991), Concerto for Marimba and Chamber Orchestra (1987-88), Symphony No 3 (1987), Summer Music (1982), and Sinfonietta (1984).
While internationally famous for his dances, jazz creations, and film and TV scores, Bennett wrote sumptuous works of ‘concert music’, as he called it. This first volume reveals him as one of the most brilliant natural talents to emerge in post-war British music. Influenced by both the American Songbook and his teacher Pierre Boulez, he also always strove to place melody – and emotional honesty – at the centre of his music.
These traits are coupled in the epic Concerto for Marimba, an innovative piece for the composer, moving from a colourful and lyrical first movement to highly virtuosic passages and strikingly athletic cadenzas. The demanding solo part is tackled here by the multi-award-winning Colin Currie, nowadays seen as the world’s finest and most daring percussionist, as well as a champion of contemporary music.
Volume Two, which will include Bennett’s Symphony No 2, Serenade, and the Concerto for Stan Getz, is due to be released in 2018.
For more info and to purchase ‘Richard Rodney Bennett: Orchestral Works Vol. 1’click here.
