Afterwords: Richard Rodney Bennett
An exploration of the musical versatility of Richard Rodney Bennett - composer, pianist, jazz musician, cabaret singer, film score writer and avant-gardist.
The series which tells the stories of musicians with the help of the archive interviews they left behind, and the reflections from those who still value their memory.
Richard Rodney Bennett, who would have celebrated his 90th birthday in March 2026, has been described as the 'complete musician'. Born into a highly musical family - his mother had studied with Gustav Holst - he was already writing film scores while a teenage student at the Royal Academy of Music. He went on to study with Boulez, perform as a jazz pianist and singer and to receive three Academy Award nominations for his film music.
He was also a lively interviewee, as revealed in the BBC Sound Archive. Here, his words interweave with new observations from jazz singing partner Claire Martin, pianist and film expert Neil Brand, biographer Anthony Meredith and musical collaborator Scott Dunn.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio Three
On radio
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- Sun 12 Apr 202619:00BBC Radio 3
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