Lennox Berkeley
Born: May 12, 1903; Boars Hill, Oxford, England
Died: December 26, 1989; London, England
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Though his profile outside the United Kingdom was overshadowed somewhat by the illustrious careers of Walton, Tippett, and Britten, Sir Lennox Berkeley left an indelible mark on British music in the twentieth century. A student of Nadia Boulanger with an ear for songlike lyricism, Berkeley established a style that combined French melodic elegance with English triadic sonority and neo-Classical clarity.
Berkeley was born into an
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Works
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(6) Preludes, Op. 23: No. 5 (1)
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(6) Preludes, Op. 23: No. 6 (1)
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(The) Lord is my Shepherd, Op. 91/1 (1)
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A Dinner Engagement, Op. 45 (1)
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A Festival Anthem, Op. 21 no 2 (1)
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Andantino for Cello and Piano, Op. 21 no 2a (1)
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Antiphon, Op. 85 (1)
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Automne, Op. 60 No. 3 (Slow) (1)
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Autumn's Legacy, Op. 58: 1. The mighty thoughts of an old world. Allegro moderato (1)
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Autumn's Legacy, Op. 58: 2. All night a wind of music. Vivace (1)
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Autumn's Legacy, Op. 58: 3. Lesbos. Andante (1)
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Autumn's Legacy, Op. 58: 4. Tonight the winds begin to rise. Allegro - Un poco meno vivo - Tempo 1 (1)
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Autumn's Legacy, Op. 58: 5. Hurrahing in harvest. Moderato - Un poco più vivo - Allegro (1)
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Autumn's Legacy, Op. 58: 6. Rich Days. Allegretto (1)
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Autumn's Legacy, Op. 58: 7. When we were idlers with the loitering rills. Andante (1)
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Canzonetta (1)
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Concert Studies (4) for Piano, Op. 14: no 2 in E minor, Andante (1)
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Concert Studies (4) for Piano, Op. 14: no 3 in C minor, Allegro (1)
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Concert Studies (4) for Piano, Op. 14: no 4 in F major, Allegro (1)
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Concert Study for Piano in E flat major, Op. 48 no 2 (2)
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Concertino for Flute/Recorder, Violin, Cello and Harpsichord/Piano, Op. 49 (1)
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Concertino, Op. 49: Aria 1 (Lento) (1)
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Concerto for 2 Pianos, Op. 30 (1)
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Concerto for Guitar, Op. 88 (1)
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Concerto for Piano in B flat major, Op. 29 (2)
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Concerto for Violin, Op. 59 (1)
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Concertos for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Op 30 (1)
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Crux fidelis, Op. 43 no 1 (2)
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D'un vanneur de blé aux vents (Andante) (1)
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Diversions, Op. 63 (1)
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Divertimento in B flat major, Op. 18 (1)
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Duo for Cello and Piano, Op. 81 no 1 (2)
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Fantasia, Op. 92 (1)
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Five Chinese Songs, Op. 78: 1. People Hide Their Love. Andante con moto (1)
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Five Chinese Songs, Op. 78: 2. The Autumn Wind. Allegretto, gently flowing (1)
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Five Chinese Songs, Op. 78: 3. Dreaming of a Dead Lady. Slow, sustained and intense - Warm (1)
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Five Chinese Songs, Op. 78: 4. Late Spring. Moderato - Meno vivo (1)
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Five Chinese Songs, Op. 78: 5. The Riverside Village. Calm and slow (Andante tranquillo) (1)
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Five Herrick Poems, Op. 89: 1. Now is your turne, my dearest, to be-set. Andante (1)
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Five Herrick Poems, Op. 89: 2. Dearest of thousands, now the time draws neare. Lento (1)
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Five Herrick Poems, Op. 89: 3. These springs were maidens once that lov'd. Allegretto (1)
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Five Herrick Poems, Op. 89: 4. My God! look on me withe'eye. Slow and freely (1)
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Five Herrick Poems, Op. 89: 5. If nine times you your bridegroom kisse. Allegro (1)
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Five Poems of W.H. Auden, Op. 53: 1. Lauds. Among the leaves the small birds sing. Allegretto - Meno (1)
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Five Poems of W.H. Auden, Op. 53: 2. O lurcher - loving collier, black as night. Andante (1)
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Five Poems of W.H. Auden, Op. 53: 3. What's in your mind, my dove, my coney. Moderato (1)
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Five Poems of W.H. Auden, Op. 53: 4. Eyes look into the well. Lento (1)
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Five Poems of W.H. Auden, Op. 53: 5. Carry her over the water. Moderato (1)
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Five Songs, Op. 14: 2. Bells of Cordoba. Allegretto (1)
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Five Songs, Op. 14: 2. Ode du premier jour de Mai. Allegretto (1)
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Greek Songs (3), Op. 38 (1)
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How love came in (Moderato) (1)
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I sing of a maiden (5)
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I Sing of a Maiden, for chorus (1)
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Impromptus (3) for Piano, Op. 7: no 1 in G minor (1)
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Improvisation for Piano on a theme by Manuel de Falla, Op. 55 no 2 (1)
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In Wintertime (1)
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Introduction and Allegro for Double Bass and Piano, Op. 80 (1)
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Introduction and Allegro for Violin, Op. 24 (1)
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Latin Motets (3), for 5 voices, Op. 83/1: Regina coeli laetare (1)
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Latin Motets (3), Op. 83 no 1 (1)
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Look up, sweet babe, Op. 43 no 2 (3)
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Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, Op. 99 (1)
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Mass, Op. 64 (1)
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Mazurka for Piano, Op. 101 no 2 (1)
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Mazurkas (3) for Piano, Op. 32 no 1 (2)
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Missa Brevis, Op. 57 (1)
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Mont Juic Suite, Op. 9 "Catalan Dances" (2)
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Palm Court Waltz, for orchestra (or piano, 4 hands), Op. 81/2a (1)
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Palm Court Waltz, Op. 81 no 2a (1)
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Partita, Op. 66 (1)
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Paysage (1)
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Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 20 (1)
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Pieces (3) for Clarinet (1)
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Pieces (3) for Organ, Op. 72 no 1: Toccata (1)
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Pieces (3) for Piano, Op. 2 (1)
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Pieces (4) for Guitar (2)
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Poems (4) of St. Teresa of Avilla, Op. 27 (3)
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Poems (5) of W. H. Auden, Op. 53 (4)
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Poems (5) of W. H. Auden, Op. 53: no 2, O lurcher-loving collier (1)
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Polka for Piano, Op. 5 no 1a (1)
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Polka, Op. 5a (1)
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Preludes (6) for Piano, Op. 23 (5)
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Preludes (6) for Piano, Op. 23: no 1, Allegro (1)
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Preludes (6) for Piano, Op. 23: no 2, Andante (1)
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Preludes (6) for Piano, Op. 23: no 3, Allegro moderato (1)
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Preludes (6) for Piano, Op. 23: no 4, Allegretto (1)
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Preludes (6) for Piano, Op. 23: no 5, Allegro (1)
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Preludes (6) for Piano, Op. 23: no 6, Andante (1)
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Quartet for Oboe and Strings, Op. 70 (1)
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Quartet for Strings no 1, Op. 6 (1)
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Quartet for Strings no 2, Op. 15 (2)
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Quartet for Strings no 3, Op. 76 (1)
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Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 90 (1)
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Ruth (1)
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Scherzo for Piano, Op. 32 no 2 (2)
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Serenade for Strings, Op. 12 (3)
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Serenade for Strings, Op. 12: Vivace (2)
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Sextet for Clarinet, Horn and Strings, Op. 47 (2)
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Short Pieces (5) for Piano, Op. 4 (2)
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Sinfonia concertante for Oboe, Op. 84 (1)
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Sinfonietta, Op. 34 (1)
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Sonata for Piano in A major, Op. 20 (1)
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Sonata for Piano in A major, Op. 20: 1st movement, Moderato (1)
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Sonata for Piano in A major, Op. 20: 2nd movement, Presto (1)
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Sonata for Piano in A major, Op. 20: 3rd movement, Adagio (1)
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Sonata for Piano in A major, Op. 20: 4th movement, Introduzione-Allegro (1)
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Sonata for Viola and PIano, Op. 22 (2)
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Sonatina for Guitar, Op. 52 no 1 (7)
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Sonatina for Guitar, Op. 52 no 1: 1st movement, Allegretto (1)
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Sonatina for Guitar, Op. 52/1 (8)
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Sonatina for Oboe and Piano, Op. 61 (1)
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Sonatina for Piano 4 hands, Op. 39 (1)
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Sonatina for piano, 4 hands in E flat major, Op. 39 (1)
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Sonatina for Recorder/Flute and Piano, Op. 13 (5)
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Sonatina for violin & piano, Op. 17 (1)
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Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Op. 17 (3)
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Songs (3), Op. 67 no 1 (2)
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Songs (5), Op. 14 no 2: Lay your sleeping head, my love (1)
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Songs (5), Op. 26: The Horseman (1)
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Songs (7), Op. 14 no 2 (1)
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Songs of the Half-light, Op. 65 (1)
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Sonnet, Op. 102 (Andante) (1)
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Symphony no 1, Op. 16 (2)
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Symphony no 2, Op. 51 (2)
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Symphony no 3, Op. 74 (2)
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Symphony no 4, Op. 94 (2)
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The Lord Is My Shepherd, for treble soloists, chorus & organ, Op. 91/1 (1)
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The Lord is my Shepherd, Op. 91 no 1 (10)
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Theme and Variations for 2 pianos, Op. 73 (1)
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Theme and Variations for violin solo, Op. 33/1 (1)
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Theme and Variations for Violin, Op. 33 no 1 (1)
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Theme and Variations, Op. 77 (5)
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Thou hast made me (1)
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Toccata for Violin and Piano, Op. 33 no 3 (1)
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Tombeaux: 1. De Sapho. Très lent (1)
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Tombeaux: 2. De Socrate. Moderato (1)
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Tombeaux: 3. D'un fleuve. Con moto (1)
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Tombeaux: 4. De Narcisse. Triste et lent (1)
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Tombeaux: 5. De Don Juan. Vif (1)
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Trio for horn, violin & piano, Op. 44 (1)
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Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano, Op. 44 (5)
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Trio for Strings, Op. 19 (1)
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Variations on an Elizabethan theme: Variation 3 (2)
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Voices of the Night, Op. 86 (1)
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| More Featured Lennox Berkeley CDs & DVDs: |
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Biography |
by Jeremy Grimshaw
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Though his profile outside the United Kingdom was overshadowed somewhat by the illustrious careers of Walton, Tippett, and Britten, Sir Lennox Berkeley left an indelible mark on British music in the twentieth century. A student of Nadia Boulanger with an ear for songlike lyricism, Berkeley established a style that combined French melodic elegance with English triadic sonority and neo-Classical clarity.
Berkeley was born into an aristocratic family, but lost out on his inheritance because his birth had preceded his parents' marriage. He nonetheless enjoyed a relatively comfortable childhood and eventually arrived at Oxford, where he studied French. (This academic background lent his later songs on French texts a particularly elegant contour.) Ravel, upon examining some of Berkeley's student compositions, encouraged him to focus on musical studies and recommended him for study with Nadia Boulanger. Berkeley was well-suited to Boulanger's infamously methodic, craft-like approach, and thrived under her tutelage. Works such as his Serenade, Op. 12, and the Divertimento, Op. 18, which remain in the British orchestral repertoire, resonate with Boulanger's influence; Peter Dickinson has described the Finale of the latter piece as "a cross between Haydn and Poulenc." Berkeley's piano works and chamber pieces demonstrate a similar disposition. Also, during his time in Paris, he converted Catholicism, a decision that would infuse his later vocal and choral works, such as the Missa brevis, with a particular spiritual fervor. As a young composer he maintained his friendship with Ravel, and also made the acquaintance of Poulenc; in fact, much of his music betrays the influence of Les Six.
Berkeley was employed for a time as a programmer for the BBC during World War II, then in 1946 took a position at the Royal Academy of Music, where he remained on the faculty for over two decades and mentored a number of important figures in the subsequent generation, including Bennett, Maw, and, most familiar to non-Brits, John Tavener. Berkeley counted Britten among his closest friends, and, following Britten's revival of British opera, he wrote a number of operatic works as well, including the successful A Dinner Engagement. A subsequent opera, Faldon Park, remained incomplete in the composer's later life. In fact, his faculties gradually deteriorated over the course of several years preceding his death in 1989. His last years were spent, rather, receiving the honors due him; subsequent to his knighthood in 1974, he received numerous accolades and an honorary degree from the international musical community. |
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