I attended the English Music Festival on 24th May and was reminded that the bicentenary of the birth of William Sterndale Bennett is next year. I understand there are several events planned to take place notably in London (including BBC transmissions), the RAM, RCM, Cambridge, Sheffield and Leipzig to mark the occasion next year . On this occasion The Villiers Quartet played the delightful String Quartet in G which he wrote as a 15 year old student at the RAM.
There are a number of people planning concerts and other events next year. Simon Callaghan is organising several concerts in London and the provinces, Oliver Davis is planning some concerts in Cambridge, David Owen Norris is planning some events in conjunction with Southampton University. If anyone knows of any other festivities around this anniversary, it would help if they made contact with Barry Sterndale-Bennett.
This is an opportunity to perform, and maybe record, the less familiar works, i.e. The Woman of Samaria, the Piano Trio, and the String Quartet.
I see that the latter was recently premiered by the New World SQ, and coincidentally was performed only a few days ago by the Villiers SQ at Radley College, Oxford. Were we aware that the score had "only recently been discovered", by the way?
Has his 6th Piano Concerto been recorded?
Quotehis 6th Piano Concerto
Let's not get into that vexed topic again. Please do a whole site search to see what has been posted here - or see this thread:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,2751.0.html (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,2751.0.html)
I see that a relative of WSB - not clear to me exactly what the relationship is - is assisting in this commemoration. See: http://www.bmsterndalebennett.co.uk/page3.htm (http://www.bmsterndalebennett.co.uk/page3.htm)
It looks like this gentleman should be a member of UCs. But then, maybe he is! :)
Barry Sterndale Bennett writes about his famous ancestor here:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/June/Sterndale_Bennett_bio.htm (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/June/Sterndale_Bennett_bio.htm)