Sir George William John Benjamin,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 31 January 1960) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. He is also a conductor,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and teacher. He is well known for operas '' Into the Little Hill'' (2006), '' Written on Skin'' (2009–2012) and '' Lessons in Love and Violence'' (2015–2017)—all with librettos by

Martin Crimp Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

. In 2019, critics at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' ranked ''Written on Skin'' as the second best work of the 21st-century.

Biography

Benjamin was born in London and attended

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

. He began composing from the age of seven, and took piano and composition lessons with

Peter Gellhorn Peter Gellhorn (born Hans Fritz Gellhorn, October 24, 1912 – February 13, 2004) was a German conductor, composer, pianist and teacher who settled in London and made a career in Britain that lasted unbroken until his death. Life Gellhorn, the ...

until the age of 15, after which Gellhorn arranged for Benjamin to continue his lessons in Paris with Olivier Messiaen, whom he had known for many years. Messiaen was reported to have described Benjamin as his favourite pupil. He then read music at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, studying under Alexander Goehr and

Robin Holloway Robin Greville Holloway (born 19 October 1943) is an English composer, academic and writer. Early life Holloway was born in Leamington Spa. From 1953 to 1957, he was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was educated at King's College School, ...

. His orchestral piece ''Ringed by the Flat Horizon'' (written for the

Cambridge University Musical Society The Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) is a federation of the university's main orchestral and choral ensembles, which cumulatively put on a substantial concert season during the university term. Background Music has a long history at Cam ...

and premiered in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

under the baton of

Mark Elder Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the ba ...

on 5 March 1980) was performed at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

that August, while he was still a student, making him the youngest living composer to have had music performed at the Proms. The

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

and

Sir Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...

, premiered ''At First Light'' two years later. ''Antara'' was commissioned by

IRCAM IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of avant garde and electro-acoustical art music. It is ...

for the 10th anniversary of the Pompidou Centre in 1987 and ''Three Inventions for chamber orchestra'' were written for the 75th

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

in 1995. The

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...

under Pierre Boulez premiered ''Palimpsests'' in 2002 to mark the opening of ‘By George’, a season-long portrait which included the first performance of ''Shadowlines'' by

Pierre-Laurent Aimard Pierre-Laurent Aimard (born 9 September 1957) is a French pianist. Biography Aimard was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio. In 1973, he was awarded the chamber music pri ...

. More recent celebrations of Benjamin's work have taken place at Southbank Centre in 2012 (as part of the UK's Cultural Olympiad) and at the Barbican in 2016. Benjamin's first operatic work '' Into the Little Hill'', written with playwright

, was commissioned in 2006 by the Festival d'Automne in Paris. It received its London premiere at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

in February 2009. Their second collaboration, '' Written on Skin'', premiered at the

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental ...

in July 2012. Benjamin conducted the UK premiere at the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal O ...

, in March 2013. '' Lessons in Love and Violence'', a third collaboration with Martin Crimp, premiered at the Royal Opera House in 2018. As a conductor, he regularly appears with some of the world's leading ensembles and orchestras, amongst them the

Ensemble Modern Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries. Hi ...

, the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and Concertgebouw orchestras, and the

Junge Deutsche Philharmonie The Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (''Young German Philharmonic'', JDPh) is one of the national youth orchestras of Germany. Unlike the Bundesjugendorchester, which is composed of pre-university students aged 14–19, the Junge Deutsche Philharmon ...

. In 1999, he made his operatic debut conducting ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' at la Monnaie, Brussels, and he has conducted numerous world premieres, including works by

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Sa ...

Unsuk Chin Unsuk Chin ( ko, 진은숙 ; born July 14, 1961) is a South Korean composer of contemporary classical music, who is based in Berlin, Germany. Chin was self-taught piano from a young age and studied composition at Seoul National University as w ...

Gérard Grisey Gérard Henri Grisey (; ; 17 June 1946 – 11 November 1998) was a twentieth-century French composer of contemporary classical music. His work is often associated with the Spectralist Movement in music, of which he was a major pioneer. Biograp ...

, and

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century ...

. In 1993, he curated the first

Meltdown Meltdown may refer to: Science and technology * Nuclear meltdown, a severe nuclear reactor accident * Meltdown (security vulnerability), affecting computer processors * Mutational meltdown, in population genetics Arts and entertainment Music * Me ...

music festival in London and in 2010 he was the Music Director of the

Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. During the 2018/2019 season, Benjamin was Composer in Residence to the

Berliner Philharmoniker The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. For sixteen years, Benjamin taught composition at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

, London, where he became the first Prince Consort Professor of Composition before succeeding Sir

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

as Henry Purcell Professor of Composition at King's College London in January 2001. His pupils include Luke Bedford and

Dai Fujikura Dai Fujikura ( ja, 藤倉大 ''Fujikura Dai''; born 27 April 1977) is a Japanese-born composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Dai Fujikura was born in 1977 in Osaka, Japan. He moved to London when he was 15 to study at Dover Col ...

Honours

In 2019, Benjamin was awarded the

Golden Lion Award The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

for lifetime achievement from the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. Other awards include the 2001

Arnold Schönberg Prize The International Arnold Schönberg Prize was established in 2001, and named after the Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg, on initiative of Kent Nagano, the former principal conductor and musical director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Ber ...

, and the 2015 Prince Pierre of Monaco composition prize (for his opera ''Written on Skin''). An honorary fellow of King's College Cambridge, the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, the

and the Royal Academy of Music, Benjamin is also an Honorary Member of the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

. He was awarded a

C.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 2010, made a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2015, and was knighted in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Personal life

Benjamin now lives in northwest London with his partner, the filmmaker Michael Waldman, whose recent credits include ''The Day John Lennon Died'', ''The Scandalous Adventures of Lord Byron'', and the TV miniseries ''Musicality''.

Selected works

Source

Opera

* '' Into the Little Hill'' (2006) text:

* '' Written on Skin'' (2009–2012) text: Martin Crimp * '' Lessons in Love and Violence'' (2015–2017) text: Martin Crimp

Orchestral

*''Ringed by the Flat Horizon'' for orchestra (1979–1980) *''A Mind of Winter'' for soprano and orchestra (1981) text:

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

*''Sudden Time'' for large orchestra (1989–1993) *''Three Inventions'' for chamber orchestra (1993–1995) *''Sometime Voices'' for baritone, chorus and orchestra (1996) text:

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

*''Palimpsests'' for orchestra (2000–2002) *''Dance Figures'', nine choreographic scenes for orchestra (2004) * Duet for piano and orchestra (2008) *''Dream of the Song'' for countertenor, female chorus and orchestra (2014–2015) texts: Solomon Ibn Gabirol and Samuel HaNagid, trans. Peter Cole;

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

* Concerto for Orchestra (2021)

Ensemble

* Octet for 8 players (1978) *''At First Light'' for 14 players (1982) *''Antara'' for 16 players and electronics (1987) *''Upon Silence'' for mezzo-soprano and viols/strings (1990) text: Yeats *''Olicantus'' for 15 players (2002)

Chamber and instrumental

* Piano Sonata (1977–1978) *''Flight'' for solo flute (1979) *''Three Studies'' for piano (1982–1985) *''Viola, Viola'' for viola duo (1997) *''Shadowlines'' – six canonic preludes for piano (2001) *''Three Miniatures'' for solo violin (2001–2002) *''Piano Figures'' – ten short pieces for piano (2004)