Benjamin Frankel

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Benjamin Frankel (born January 31, 1906 in London , † February 12, 1973 in London ) was an English composer .

Life

Frankel was born to Polish-Jewish parents. He learned the violin early on and showed considerable talent. At the age of 14, his pianistic skills caught the attention of Victor Benham , who convinced his parents to allow him to study music full-time. In 1922 he spent a few weeks in Germany, but soon returned to London, where he received a scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Musicians . In the following years he tried his hand at his first serious compositions while he earned his living as a jazz violinist, pianist and arranger.

By the early 1930s Frankel had become a much sought-after arranger and musical director in London; he gave up the stage work in 1944, but remained interested in composing film music until his death and wrote over 100 scores in this genre. Frankel also became known as a serious composer after World War II . His first work to achieve fame was the Violin Concerto , dedicated to the memory of the 6 million in bowing to the Jews murdered in the Holocaust , commissioned for the Festival of Britain in 1951 and premiered by Max Rostal .

Frankel's best-known works include a cycle of 5 string quartets and 8 symphonies, as well as concertos for violin and viola; his best-known work is perhaps the 1st sonata for violin solo, which, like the concerts, is the result of a long collaboration with Max Rostal. In the last 15 years of his life Frankel developed a personal style in the application of the twelve-tone technique , which, however, maintains points of contact with the tonality .

Frankel died while working on the three-act opera Marching Song and a ninth symphony that had been commissioned by the BBC ; his works went largely unnoticed for the next 20 years, until the German record company cpo (Classic Produktion Osnabrück , now bought by jpc ) took up his entire work in collaboration with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . The recording was made by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Werner Andreas Albert .

Frankel was Composer of the Week at the BBC in late 1996 .

Selection of works

Symphonies

  • 1st Symphony op.33, three movements, 1958 (first twelve-tone composition?)
  • 2nd Symphony op.38, three movements, 1962
  • 3rd Symphony, Op. 40, one movement, 1964
  • 4th Symphony, Op. 44, three movements, 1966
  • 5th Symphony, Op. 46, three movements, 1967
  • 6th Symphony, Op. 49, five movements, 1969
  • 7th Symphony op.50, four movements, 1970
  • 8th Symphony, Op. 53, four movements, 1971

Concerts

  • Violin Concerto To the memory of the six million op. 24, four movements, 1951
  • Serenata Concertante for piano trio and orchestra op.37, one movement (in several parts), 1960
  • Viola Concerto op.45, three movements, 1967

Further works for (chamber) orchestra

  • Three sketches for strings (originally for quartet) op. 2, 1920s?
  • Solemn Speech and Discussion op. 11
  • Youth Music , four pieces for small orchestra, op.12
  • May Day (Overture) op. 22, 1948
  • Mephistopheles Serenade and Dance op.25, 1952
  • Shakespeare Overture op.29
  • Overture to a Ceremony op. 51

Chamber music

  • Three piano studies op. 1, 1926
  • 1st string trio op.3
  • Trio for clarinet, cello and piano op.10, three movements, 1940
  • 1st Sonata for violin solo op.13 (before 1943)
  • 1st string quartet op.14, four movements, around 1944/45
  • 2nd string quartet op.15, five movements, 1944
  • 3rd string quartet op.18, five movements, around 1947
  • Early Morning Music , Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, three movements, 1948
  • 4th string quartet op. 21, four movements, around 1949?
  • Quartet for piano and strings op. 26, three movements, published in 1962, probably composed in the 1950s
  • Quintet for clarinet and strings op.28, three movements, 1956
  • Inventions in Major / Minor modes , for cello and piano op.31
  • 2nd string trio op. 34, three movements, publ. 1960 (?)
  • Cinque Pezzi Notturni for 11 instruments op.35, 5 pieces, 1959
  • 2. Sonata for violin solo op.39, three movements, 1962
  • Pezzi pianissimi for clarinet, cello and piano op.41, 4 pieces, 1964
  • 5th String Quartet op.43, five movements, 1965

Vocal works

  • The Aftermath Op. 17
  • Eight songs op.32, 1959

The symphonies, concerts, quartets and a few other works have so far been recorded by cpo, as has part of the film music (a few works were also available on LP, the clarinet quintet also on CD).

Film music (selection)

Web links

The Benjamin Frankel Society

personal data
SURNAME Frankel, Benjamin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English composer
DATE OF BIRTH January 31, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1973
Place of death London