Feature Articles ...
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Tempo,
London-Spring-Summer 1958
The Music of Benjamin Lees Deryck Cooke Tempo, London-Spring 1963 The Recent Music of Benjamin Lees Deryck Cooke Tempo, London-Spring 1964 Benjamin Lees' Visions of Poets Deryck Cooke Tempo, London-Autumn 1967 Benjamin Lees' String Quartet Concerto Niall O'Loughlin |
Tempo,
London-Summer 1970
Two Works by Benjamin Lees Niall O'Loughlin Tempo, London-June 1975, No. 113 Benjamin Lees In Excelsis Nicolas Slonimsky Tempo, London-December 1990, No. 175 Benjamin Lees: Quo Vadis? Bret Jonnson Tempo, London-September 1994, No. 190 Benjamin Lees' Mirrors Bret Jonnson |
Article From Strad Magazine–August
2007
FOUR PLUS ONE works for string quartet and orchestra have their genesis in Baroque music but it's only recently that the genre has flourished.
Concertos for string quartet and orchestra may be rare, but as Robert Markow argues, composers from all corners of the world are increasingly embracing this little-explored genre...Over the years, thousands of concertos and thousands of string quartets have been written, yet there exist but a few dozen compositions that fuse the two genres into a single concept.
...The difficulty of writing for this combination, was exceptionally well realised by American composer Benjamin Lees in his 1964 Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra. The solo quartet is clearly in the forefront of musical activity, yet it is also seamlessly fused with the orchestra in a way that suggests not so much 'us' and 'them' as 'we're all in this together'. The two ensembles are in constant dialogue, engaging in contrast and juxtaposition of all musical ideas. In true keeping with the title, the quartet is used mostly as a single soloist (as opposed to four individuals). What makes this concerto such an outstanding model of the form is not just the way Lees fashions his musical material into a tightly knit whole, but also the success with which he elevates the orchestral component to the level of an equal partner. The orchestration is uncommonly brilliant and colourful, with substantial contributions from trumpets, trombones and timpani. Through clever and frequent alternation of quartet and orchestra, Lees manages to avoid burying the soloists in dense, complex orchestral textures. The first movement hurtles along with the intense momentum of the analogous movement of Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto; the second conjures up a haunting, funereal mindscape; and the finale, a rondo in the best concerto tradition, is replete with asymmetrical rhythmic patterns (much of it in 7/8 time) and the fury of whirling dervishes. It is Lees' most frequently performed composition, with performances to date by nearly 40 orchestras...
Ian Hobson and Florida Symphony Premiere Benjamin Lees' Piano Concerto No. 3
Pianist Ian Hobson and the Florida Symphony, conducted by Susan Haig, presented the world premiere performance of Benjamin Lees' Piano Concerto No. 3 in Tampa, FL on the evening of Saturday, April 14, 2007. The work was completed in late 2006. (click here for review)
Cypress String Quartet Premieres Benjamin Lees' Quartet No. 6
December 4 Performance at Le Petit Trianon in San Jose, California
The Cypress String Quartet presented the World Premiere performance of Benjamin Lees' Quartet No. 6 at 7 PM on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at Le Petit Trianon, 72 North 5th Street in San José, California. The concert was presented by the San Jose Chamber Music Society. Lees' Quartet was commissioned by the Cypress String Quartet and is in four movements. For reviews click here.
The Cypress Quartet can be visited online at www.cypressquartet.com.
FOUR PLUS ONE works for string quartet and orchestra have their genesis in Baroque music but it's only recently that the genre has flourished.
Concertos for string quartet and orchestra may be rare, but as Robert Markow argues, composers from all corners of the world are increasingly embracing this little-explored genre...Over the years, thousands of concertos and thousands of string quartets have been written, yet there exist but a few dozen compositions that fuse the two genres into a single concept.
...The difficulty of writing for this combination, was exceptionally well realised by American composer Benjamin Lees in his 1964 Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra. The solo quartet is clearly in the forefront of musical activity, yet it is also seamlessly fused with the orchestra in a way that suggests not so much 'us' and 'them' as 'we're all in this together'. The two ensembles are in constant dialogue, engaging in contrast and juxtaposition of all musical ideas. In true keeping with the title, the quartet is used mostly as a single soloist (as opposed to four individuals). What makes this concerto such an outstanding model of the form is not just the way Lees fashions his musical material into a tightly knit whole, but also the success with which he elevates the orchestral component to the level of an equal partner. The orchestration is uncommonly brilliant and colourful, with substantial contributions from trumpets, trombones and timpani. Through clever and frequent alternation of quartet and orchestra, Lees manages to avoid burying the soloists in dense, complex orchestral textures. The first movement hurtles along with the intense momentum of the analogous movement of Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto; the second conjures up a haunting, funereal mindscape; and the finale, a rondo in the best concerto tradition, is replete with asymmetrical rhythmic patterns (much of it in 7/8 time) and the fury of whirling dervishes. It is Lees' most frequently performed composition, with performances to date by nearly 40 orchestras...
Ian Hobson and Florida Symphony Premiere Benjamin Lees' Piano Concerto No. 3
Pianist Ian Hobson and the Florida Symphony, conducted by Susan Haig, presented the world premiere performance of Benjamin Lees' Piano Concerto No. 3 in Tampa, FL on the evening of Saturday, April 14, 2007. The work was completed in late 2006. (click here for review)
Cypress String Quartet Premieres Benjamin Lees' Quartet No. 6
December 4 Performance at Le Petit Trianon in San Jose, California
The Cypress String Quartet presented the World Premiere performance of Benjamin Lees' Quartet No. 6 at 7 PM on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at Le Petit Trianon, 72 North 5th Street in San José, California. The concert was presented by the San Jose Chamber Music Society. Lees' Quartet was commissioned by the Cypress String Quartet and is in four movements. For reviews click here.
The Cypress Quartet can be visited online at www.cypressquartet.com.
From July 2005 Musical Opinion (U.K.):
Arman Trio At The Wigmore
The programme presented by the Arman Piano Trio from Turkey, sponsored by SA Banci Holding, at the Wigmore Hall on 24 June was far from traditional in content....
The greatest interest of the concert centered upon the second half, which began with the British premiere, no less, of the distinguished American composer Benjamin Lees' Piano Trio No 2 "Silent Voices" – intended, as the composer says, as "a small gesture of remembrance to those whose voices were forever stilled by pogroms and genocides of the past". The work is in one movement and was written in 1998; if some may think it has a tendency to work its material too thoroughly, I was utterly gripped by it, as were many in the large audience, who gave the composer – who was present – a standing ovation....
Robert Matthew-Walker