Berkeley: Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Op. 17 / Six Preludes, Op. 23 / Concertino, Op. 49

Featuring

Elizabeth Sellars
Len Vorster
David Berlin
Deborah de Graaff
Masahide Kurita
Schirmer Ensemble

Lennox Berkeley

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Composer Biography

Lennox Berkeley served as a professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1946 to 1968, teaching many leading composers of the next generation.

Recording & Production

The Schirmer Ensemble, featuring Len Vorster (piano), Masahide Kurita (flute), Deborah de Graaff (clarinet), Elizabeth Sellars (violin), and David Berlin (cello), recorded this album in Melbourne between 2000 and 2003.

Composer Biography

Lennox Berkeley, a descendant of the Earls of Berkeley, studied French at Oxford and later became a pupil of Nadia Boulanger in Paris on Ravel's advice.

Composer Biography

Lennox Berkeley became a Catholic during his time in Paris, which significantly influenced his work, particularly his settings of the traditional Latin liturgy.

Instruments

Violinist Elizabeth Sellars recorded the Berkeley CD on a Eugenio Degani instrument made in 1876.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Lennox Berkeley's generally tonal style, influenced by French music, was later modified and enriched by his eclectic use of serialism, similar to Benjamin Britten's approach.

Composer Biography

Lennox Berkeley and Benjamin Britten, both composers, collaborated on an orchestral work called Mont Juic, based on Catalan dances they heard in Barcelona.