(1893 - 1960)
Arthur Benjamin was born in Sydney, Australia, on 18 September 1893 and received his earliest education in Brisbane. Even as a boy, he was determined to pursue his musical training in London and in 1911 he achieved his aim, studying composition with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and piano with Frederick Cliffe. At the outbreak of war in 1914 Benjamin joined the army, later transferring to the RAF. His wartime service was curtailed when his plane was shot down and he was captured. Demobilised on the return of peace, he travelled home to Australia, where he began to compose in earnest. But he soon found the atmosphere too restrictive, and in 1921 returned to England. Although his First String Quartet (Pastorale Fantasia) was awarded a Carnegie Prize in 1924, Benjamin’s reputation was established initially through teaching: in 1926 he took up a professorship of piano at the Royal College of Music, where his students included the young Benjamin Britten. Benjamin’s compositions began to make an impact from the early 1930s onwards, particularly with his Violin Concerto (1932) and a comic opera, The Devil Take Her (1931), which enjoyed the championship of Sir Thomas Beecham.
Arthur Benjamin Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Caribbean Dance (A New Jamaican Rumba)
Timpani + 3 percussion + celeste
Glockenspiel, xylophone, triangle, maracas, snare drum, celeste
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Concerto quasi una Fantasia
Timpani + 2 percussion
Xylophone, triangle, orchestral bass drum, snare drum, tenor drum
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Cotillon
Timpani + 2 percussion
Glockenspiel, xylophone, clash cymbals, triangle, snare drum
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Elegy, Waltz and Toccata
Timpani + 3 percussion
Glockenspiel, xylophone, clash cymbals, triangle, orchestral bass drum, snare drum, tambourine, tenor drum
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From San Domingo
Timpani + 2 percussion
Xylophone, clash cymbals, triangle, temple blocks
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Harmonica Concerto
No Timpani + 1 percussion + celeste
Xylophone, celeste
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The Devil Take Her - Baritone and Orchestra
Timpani + 1 percussion
Orchestral bass drum, clash cymbal
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