Richard Stoker (8 November 1938 – 24 March 2021) was a British composer, writer, actor and artist. There was a strong musical tradition in Stoker's family, and he showed an early aptitude, intrigued by the piano keyboard as soon as he was tall enough to reach it. He started playing the piano at the age of six, started to compose at the age of seven, and went to an uncle for piano lessons. At 15 he went to

Huddersfield Technical College Kirklees College is a further education college with two main centres in the towns of Dewsbury and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. History The college was formed on 1 August 2008 after the Dewsbury College Dissolution order approved th ...

, studying with Harold Truscott and Winifred Smith. After initial encouragement from

Eric Fenby Eric William Fenby OBE (22 April 190618 February 1997) was an English composer, conductor, pianist, organist and teacher who is best known for being Frederick Delius's amanuensis from 1928 to 1934. He helped Delius realise a number of works t ...

Arthur Benjamin Arthur Leslie Benjamin (18 September 1893 in Sydney – 10 April 1960 in London) was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of ''Jamaican Rumba'' (1938) and of the '' Storm Clouds Cantata'', fea ...

and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

, he entered the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in 1958 and studied under

Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley CBE (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James ...

. He won several prizes at the RAM, culminating in the

Mendelssohn Scholarship The Mendelssohn Scholarship () refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to continue their development. Hi ...

in 1962, which took him to Paris to study with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

. Returning to London in 1963 he was invited to teach at the RAM, and was a Professor of Composition there for over 20 years. He later became Hon Treasurer and a Founder member of the Royal Academy of Music Guild. He was a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM), and also an Associate of the

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(

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). An early success as a composer was with the orchestral overture ''Antic Hay'' (1961) which won the first Royal Amateur Orchestral Society Award. The ''Petite Suite'' of the same year won the first Eric Coates Memorial Prize. Other orchestral works include four numbered symphonies (spanning 1961-1991), a ''Little Symphony'' and a piano concerto (op.54, 1978). There are two operas: ''Johnson Preserv'd'' (1967) and ''Thérèse Raquin'' (1975). His chamber and instrumental music includes three each of string quartets, piano trios and violin sonatas. Stoker also composed song cycles, choral works (such as the dramatic cantata ''Ecce homo'', 1962) and music for the organ (''Organ Symphony'', op. 58, 1980). Stoker declared the piano to be his favourite instrument, with the guitar a close second: he produced a number of pieces for both instruments. His style was modern but accessible, full of his optimistic, ''joie de vivre'' personality. He edited ''Composer'' magazine between 1969 and 1980, and wrote entries on eight musicians for the ''

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'':

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, Janet Craxton,

, Anthony Milner, Robert Simpson and Harold Truscott. Sometimes referred to as a Renaissance Man, he was also a writer: two novels, short stories and poetry (''Words without Music'', 1970, and ''Portrait of a Town'', 1974), three plays (unpublished) and an autobiography, ''Open Window – Open Door'', 1985. As an artist he exhibited some of his drawings and paintings. In later years he enjoyed acting in films and TV - he appeared in over 100 productions, including

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(as body double for

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

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and

MotherFatherSon ''MotherFatherSon'' is a British thriller television series starring Richard Gere his first major television role Helen McCrory, Billy Howle, Ciarán Hinds and Elena Anaya. The series broadcast on BBC Two began on 6 March 2019 and ended on 24 A ...

. Stoker's first marriage was to Jacqueline (née Trelfer) in 1962. They were divorced in 1985. He married his second wife, Gill (née Watson), in 1986. He was a member of the

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a private members' club in London, founded in 1831 as a club for "actors and men of refinement to meet on equal terms". It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world. Its 1,500 members include many actors, writers, ...

for several years.

References

Music Web International pages on Stoker by John France (April 2004), accessed 8 February 2010
*Townend, Richard (1968): 'Richard Stoker' ''The Musical Times'', Vol. 109, No. 1503 (May, 1968), pp. 424–42

External links

Playlist of selected musical items.Performance by Karen Wong and Lance Mok of Sonatina for Flute and Piano

Performance by William Wielgus of Three Pieces for Solo Oboe

Performance by Matthew Schellhorn of Piano Sonata No. 1.Performance by Einar Johannesson and Philip Jenkins of Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano.Performance by Rhymney Valley Festival Orchestra of Chorale for Strings.Publications on WorldCat.Composer information on Impulse.Acting website, accessed 29 March 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoker, Richard 1938 births 2021 deaths People from Castleford 20th-century English composers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century British classical composers 21st-century British classical composers English classical composers English opera composers British male opera composers English short story writers English male poets English male short story writers English male novelists English male classical composers Associates of the Royal College of Music Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians