Benjamin Frankel
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Frankel was a British
composer. Frankel's most famous pieces include a cycle of five string quartets and eight symphonies as well as a number of concerto
s for violin and viola; his single best-known piece is probably the First Sonata for Solo Violin, which, like his concertos, resulted from a long association with Max Rostal
. During the last 15 years of his life, Frankel also developed his own style of 12-note composition
that retained contact with tonality
.
on 31 January 1906, the son of Polish
-Jewish parents. He started learning the violin
at an early age, showing remarkable talent; at age 14, his piano
-playing gifts attracted the attention of Victor Benham, who persuaded his parents to let him study music full-time. He spent a few weeks in Germany
in 1922, but quickly returned to London
, where he won a scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Musicians
and attempted his first serious compositions while earning his income as a jazz
violinist, pianist and arranger.
By the early 1930s, Frankel was in high demand as an arranger and musical director in London; he gave up theatre work in 1944, though, even though he retained an interest in movie
composing until his death, writing over 100 scores. Frankel also became widely-known as a serious composer after World War II
; his first work to gain fame was the violin concerto
dedicated "in memory of 'the six million' ", a reference to the Jews murdered during the Holocaust
, commissioned for the 1951 Festival of Britain
and first performed by Max Rostal
. From 1941 till 1952 he was a member of the British Communist Party, but resigned his membership in protest at the Prague show-trials.
Frankel died in London on 12 February 1973 while working on the three-act opera Marching Song and a ninth symphony, which had been commissioned by the BBC
. When he died, Marching Song had been completed in short score; it was orchestrated by Buxton Orr
, a composer who had studied with Frankel and whose advocacy has been at least partly responsible for the revival of interest in his works.
featured him as the Composer of the Week, allowing many people a first opportunity to hear his music (they did so again in 2006). A major turning point, however, came when a German
record company CPO (Classic Produktion Osnabrück
, since bought by JPC) decided to record his entire output with the help of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
. This has allowed, for the first time, an appraisal of his output. The conductor was Werner Andreas Albert
.
The symphonies, concerti, quartets, and a few other works have been among the works recorded so far by cpo, as well as some film scores (a few works were available on LP, and the clarinet quintet has a CD alternative.)
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
composer. Frankel's most famous pieces include a cycle of five string quartets and eight symphonies as well as a number of concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
s for violin and viola; his single best-known piece is probably the First Sonata for Solo Violin, which, like his concertos, resulted from a long association with Max Rostal
Max Rostal
Max Rostal was a violinist and a viola player. He was Austrian-born, but later took British citizenship.-Biography:Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn and studied with Carl Flesch. He won the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1925...
. During the last 15 years of his life, Frankel also developed his own style of 12-note composition
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
that retained contact with tonality
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
.
Biography
Frankel was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 31 January 1906, the son of Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-Jewish parents. He started learning the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
at an early age, showing remarkable talent; at age 14, his piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
-playing gifts attracted the attention of Victor Benham, who persuaded his parents to let him study music full-time. He spent a few weeks in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1922, but quickly returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he won a scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Musicians
Worshipful Company of Musicians
The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of music making in London moved from the City to the...
and attempted his first serious compositions while earning his income as a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
violinist, pianist and arranger.
By the early 1930s, Frankel was in high demand as an arranger and musical director in London; he gave up theatre work in 1944, though, even though he retained an interest in movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
composing until his death, writing over 100 scores. Frankel also became widely-known as a serious composer after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; his first work to gain fame was the violin concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
dedicated "in memory of 'the six million
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, commissioned for the 1951 Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
and first performed by Max Rostal
Max Rostal
Max Rostal was a violinist and a viola player. He was Austrian-born, but later took British citizenship.-Biography:Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn and studied with Carl Flesch. He won the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1925...
. From 1941 till 1952 he was a member of the British Communist Party, but resigned his membership in protest at the Prague show-trials.
Frankel died in London on 12 February 1973 while working on the three-act opera Marching Song and a ninth symphony, which had been commissioned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. When he died, Marching Song had been completed in short score; it was orchestrated by Buxton Orr
Buxton Orr
Buxton Orr was a Glasgow-born Anglo-Scottish composer.Originally trained as a doctor, Orr gave up medicine and switched to music, studying composition with Benjamin Frankel and conducting with Aylmer Buesst...
, a composer who had studied with Frankel and whose advocacy has been at least partly responsible for the revival of interest in his works.
Posthumous reputation
In the twenty years following his death, Frankel's works were almost completely neglected. In 1996, BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
featured him as the Composer of the Week, allowing many people a first opportunity to hear his music (they did so again in 2006). A major turning point, however, came when a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
record company CPO (Classic Produktion Osnabrück
Classic Produktion Osnabrück
Classic Produktion Osnabrück is a record label founded in 1986 by Georg Ortmann and several others. Its declared mission is to fill niches in the recorded classical repertory, with an emphasis on romantic, late romantic and 20th-century music...
, since bought by JPC) decided to record his entire output with the help of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. This has allowed, for the first time, an appraisal of his output. The conductor was Werner Andreas Albert
Werner Andreas Albert
Werner Andreas Albert is a German conductor.He began his studies in musicology and history, and later studying conducting with Herbert von Karajan and Hans Rosbaud. After his 1961 debut with the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra, he became chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie...
.
Symphonies
- Symphony No. 1 — Op.Opus numberAn Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
33, three movements, 1958 (first twelve-tone work?) - Symphony No. 2 — Op. 38, three movements, 1962
- Symphony No. 3 — Op. 40, one movement, 1964
- Symphony No. 4 — Op. 44, three movements, 1966
- Symphony No. 5 — Op. 46, three movements, 1967
- Symphony No. 6 — Op. 49, five movements, 1969
- Symphony No. 7 — Op. 50, four movements, 1970
- Symphony No. 8 — Op. 53, four movements, 1971
Concertos
- Violin concerto To the memory of the six million, Op. 24, four movements, 1951
- Serenata Concertante for piano trio and orchestra, one movement (in parts), Op. 37, 1960
- Viola concerto, Op. 45, three movements, 1967
Other orchestral and small-orchestra works (selected)
- 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
Selected chamber works
- Three piano studies, Op. 1, 1926
- String trio no. 1, Op. 3
- Sonata for viola solo, Op. 7 (early 1930s)
- Trio for clarinet, cello and piano, Op. 10, three movements, 1940
- Violin solo sonata No. 1, Op. 13 (before 1943)
- String quartet No. 1, Op. 14, four movements, around 1944–5
- String quartet No. 2, Op. 15, five movements, 1944
- String quartet No. 3, Op. 18, five movements, around 1947
- Early Morning Music, trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, three movements, 1948
- String quartet No. 4, Op. 21, four movements, around 1949?
- Quartet for piano and strings, Op. 26, three movements ((c) 1962 but written sometime in the 1950s?)
- Quintet for clarinet and strings, Op. 28, three movements, 1956
- Inventions in Major/Minor modes, cello and piano, Op. 31
- String trio No. 2, Op. 34, three movements, (c) 1960 (?)
- Cinque Pezzi Notturni for eleven instruments, Op. 35, five pieces, 1959
- Violin solo sonata No. 2, Op. 39, three movements, 1962
- Pezzi pianissimi for clarinet cello and piano, Op. 41, four pieces, 1964
- String quartet No. 5, Op. 43, five movements, 1965
Film scores
- Radio Parade of 1935Radio Parade of 1935Radio Parade of 1935 , released in the USA as Radio Follies, is a British comedy film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Will Hay, Clifford Mollison and Helen Chandler.-Plot:...
, 1935 - Flight from FollyFlight from FollyFlight from Folly is a 1945 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Mason and starring Patricia Kirkwood and Hugh Sinclair, with music from Edmundo Ros and his famous Rumba Band...
, 1945 - The Seventh VeilThe Seventh VeilThe Seventh Veil is a 1945 British melodrama film made by Ortus Films, a company established by producer Sydney Box, who here released through General Film Distributors in the UK and Universal Pictures in the United States.-Plot:...
, 1945- his contribution to the sound track was overshadowed by classical piano works - parts of the Grieg ConcertoPiano Concerto (Grieg)The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concerti.-Structure :The concerto is in three movements:...
and the Rachmaninoff 2nd ConcertoPiano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900...
, and solo pieces by BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
and ChopinFrédéric ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
- his contribution to the sound track was overshadowed by classical piano works - parts of the Grieg Concerto
- Dear MurdererDear MurdererDear Murderer is a 1947 British thriller, directed by Arthur Crabtree for Gainsborough Pictures, and starring Eric Portman and Greta Gynt. The film was well-received for its tautness and ingenuity, with one reviewer noting: "Dear Murderer is a shrewd, semi-psychological thriller with Eric Portman,...
, 1947 - DaybreakDaybreak (1948 film)Daybreak is a 1948 British film noir drama film, directed by Compton Bennett and starring Eric Portman, Ann Todd and Maxwell Reed. A sombre, bleak film, Daybreak was filmed in 1946, but ran into trouble with the BBFC, resulting in a delay of almost two years before its release...
, 1948 - London Belongs to MeLondon Belongs to MeLondon Belongs to Me is a 1948 British film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel of the same name by Norman Collins...
, 1948 - Trottie TrueTrottie TrueTrottie True is a 1949 British musical comedy film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Jean Kent, James Donald and Hugh Sinclair. It was adapted from a play by Caryl Brahms and S. J...
, 1948 - Give Us This DayGive Us This DayGive Us This Day is a 1949 British film, directed by Edward Dmytryk. It was released in the United States as Christ in Concrete. Another alternate title was Salt and the Devil....
, 1949 - So Long at the FairSo Long at the FairSo Long at the Fair is a 1950 British thriller film directed by Terence Fisher and Anthony Darnborough, and starring Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde. It was adapted from the 1947 novel of the same name by Anthony Thorne...
, 1950- The light concert pieceLight musicLight music is a generic term applied to a mainly British musical style of "light" orchestral music, which originated in the 19th century and had its heyday during the early to mid part of the 20th century, although arguably it lasts to the present day....
"Carriage and Pair" is based on the soundtrack of this film.
- The light concert piece
- Night and the CityNight and the CityNight and the City is a film noir based on the novel by Gerald Kersh, directed by Jules Dassin, and starring Richard Widmark and Gene Tierney. Shot on location in London, the plot evolves around an ambitious hustler whose plans keep going wrong....
, 1950 UK version - The Clouded YellowThe Clouded YellowThe Clouded Yellow is a 1951 British mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty E. Box for Carillon Films.-Plot synopsis:...
, 1951 - The Man in the White SuitThe Man in the White SuitThe Man In The White Suit is a 1951 satirical comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the "common man" against the Establishment...
, 1951 - Appointment with VenusAppointment with Venus (film)Appointment with Venus is a 1951 film adaptation of the Jerrard Tickell novel of the same name. It was directed by Ralph Thomas, produced by Betty E. Box and its screenplay was written by the novelist Nicholas Phipps...
, 1951 - The Importance of Being EarnestThe Importance of Being Earnest (1952 film)The Importance of Being Earnest is a British film adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde. It was directed by Anthony Asquith, who also adapted the screenplay, and was produced by Teddy Baird.-Adaptation:...
, 1952 - The NetThe Net (1953 film)The Net is a 1953 British film made by Two Cities Films, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring James Donald, Phyllis Calvert, Robert Beatty and Herbert Lom...
, 1953 - The Young LoversThe Young LoversThe Young Lovers is a 1954 British Cold War romance drama, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Odile Versois and David Knight. The film was produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan, with cinematography from Jack Asher and screenplay by George Tabori and Robin Estridge...
, 1954 - A Kid for Two FarthingsA Kid for Two FarthingsA Kid for Two Farthings is a 1953 novel by the British writer Wolf Mankowitz, based on the author's experiences of growing up within a Jewish community in London's East End. It was translated into a film by Carol Reed in 1955...
, 1955 - The End of the AffairThe End of the AffairThe End of the Affair is a novel by British author Graham Greene, as well as the title of two feature films that were adapted for the screen based on the novel....
, 1955 - The Curse of the Werewolf, 1960
- The Night of the IguanaThe Night of the Iguana (film)The Night of the Iguana is a 1964 film based on the 1961 play The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams. Directed by John Huston, it starred Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr. It won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best...
, 1964 - Battle of the Bulge, 1965
The symphonies, concerti, quartets, and a few other works have been among the works recorded so far by cpo, as well as some film scores (a few works were available on LP, and the clarinet quintet has a CD alternative.)
External links
- British Music Society Lecture-Recital Has authorized sound samples
- The Benjamin Frankel Society
- British Library Frankel Exhibition Online exhibition on Benjamin Frankel to mark his centenary
- Official Benjamin Frankel Site sponsored by his estate