Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, best known for his orchestration of many well-known

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

musicals by other composers such as

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

, and

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

.Profile
ibdb.com; accessed May 1, 2008. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received special

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

recognizing his orchestrations for Broadway shows. Early in his career, he was often billed as Russell Bennett.

Life and career

Early life

Robert Russell Bennett was born in 1894 to a musical family in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. His father, George Bennett, played

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

in the

Kansas City Symphony The Kansas City Symphony (KCS) is an American symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The orchestra is resident at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The orchestra performs a 42-week season, and is also the accompanying o ...

and

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

at the Grand Opera House, while his mother, May, worked as a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and teacher. She taught Bennett piano, while his father taught him violin and trumpet. The Bennett family moved to a farm in

Freeman, Missouri Freeman is a city in Cass County, Missouri, United States. The population was 475 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. History Freeman was platted in 1871, and named after a railroad official. A post office cal ...

, when Bennett was four, to speed his recovery from

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. He graduated as the Valedictorian of Freeman High School. By that time, he had demonstrated his aptitude for music and his remarkable ear by picking out the finale of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata on the white keys of the piano. By his early adolescence, his father often called upon him to play any given instrument as a utility member or substitute player within Bennett's Band in

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

. In his autobiography, Bennett recalled finding a

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

tune on the piano at age ten and being informed by his mother that such music was trash—this lesson taught him to be, as he called it, a "life-long musical snob". His mother also taught his academic lessons until he was twelve due to health concerns; his health remained an obstacle when Bennett later decided to join the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Early career

After completing his

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

, Bennett moved to Kansas City to be a freelance musician, performing throughout the city as well as with the symphony. He also began his first musical training outside of a home environment with Danish composer-conductor Dr. Carl Busch. Busch taught him

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

until 1916, when Bennett took his savings and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He eventually found a job as a

copyist A copyist is a person who makes duplications of the same thing. The modern use of the term is mainly confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript. However, the ...

with G. Schirmer while continuing to freelance and to build a network of contacts, particularly with the New York Flute Club. In 1917 he volunteered for the Army. Although he yearned for an active role, his youthful health woes caused the

draft board {{further, Conscription in the United StatesDraft boards are a part of the Selective Service System which register and select men of military age in the event of conscription in the United States. Local board The local draft board is a board tha ...

to mark him for limited service. However, he successfully appealed this classification and became the director of the 70th Infantry Band at

Camp Funston Camp Funston is a U.S. Army training camp located on the grounds of Fort Riley, southwest of Manhattan, Kansas. The camp was named for Brigadier General Frederick Funston (1865–1917). It is one of sixteen such camps that were established at ...

, Kansas. He valiantly attempted to improve the "disgraceful" musical standards of the unit, but found his efforts thwarted when the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

swept through the post in 1918. Upon his discharge several months later, he returned to New York. His relationship with Winifred Edgerton Merrill, a society matron who had been the first woman to receive a doctorate from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, led to rewards both financial and emotional—she had been one of his first employers in the city, and she introduced him to her daughter Louise, whom he married on December 26, 1919. Their daughter, Jean, was born a year later. Bennett later studied

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

in Paris 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 ...

1926-1929.

Broadway arranger

His career as an arranger began to blossom in 1919 while he was employed by T.B. Harms, a prominent publishing firm for Broadway and Tin Pan Alley. Dependable yet creative within the confines of formulaic arranging, Bennett soon branched out as an orchestrator and arranger for Broadway productions, collaborating particularly with

. Although Bennett would work with several of the top names on Broadway and in film including

, and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

, his collaborations with

and

stand out both for sheer volume and for highlighting different facets of an arranger's relationship with a composer. Bennett described his own philosophy: "The perfect arrangement is one that manages to be most 'becoming' to the melody at all points." ;With Jerome Kern Kern's working relationship with Bennett serves as a clear illustration of this point. For example, when orchestrating ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'', Bennett would work from sketches laid out quite specifically by Kern, which included melodies, rough parts, and harmonies. The original sketches appear remarkably close to Bennett's completed scores; as one scholar puts it, "Bennett didn't have much to make up." ;With Richard Rodgers In contrast, Rodgers allowed Bennett a greater degree of autonomy. The pair had first collaborated in 1927, but the majority of their partnership occurred in the 1940s and 1950s. While scoring ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'' in 1943, Bennett proved himself invaluable by reworking an elaborate and possibly out-of-place selection into the title song. His most legendary contribution to the partnership, however, occurred during the scoring of the television series ''

Victory at Sea ''Victory at Sea'' is a documentary television series about warfare in general during World War II, and naval warfare in particular, as well as the use of industry in warfare. It was broadcast by NBC in the United States during 1952–53. It w ...

'' (1952–53). Richard Rodgers contributed twelve basic themes for the series, with three earmarked for the first episode; Rodgers's ''Victory at Sea'' manuscripts total seventeen pages. The Rodgers themes total about twelve minutes of music, and are employed by Bennett in a bit more than two hours of the series' scoring, which amounts to more than 11-1/2 hours of orchestra music. Rodgers commented on Bennett's

contributions: "I give him he creditwithout undue modesty, for making my music sound better than it was." ;With George Gershwin With Gershwin and his Broadway musical scores, Bennett would work from annotated short scores (dual folios for piano with general suggestions for which instruments would play what.) He worked very closely as Gershwin's assistant during the period in which Gershwin composed his score for the 1937

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

film, ''

Shall We Dance Shall We Dance may refer to: Films * ''Shall We Dance'' (1937 film), a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical * ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996 film), a Japanese film about ballroom dancing * ''Shall We Dance?'' (2004 film), an American remake of the ...

'', often spending late nights with Gershwin rushing to complete orchestrations for deadlines. The next year Gershwin died. Later Bennett would be turned to yet again as a definitive orchestrator of Gershwin's other works, both on Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture and the orchestral medley, "Gershwin in Hollywood".

Other commissions

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

was engaged in writing a 2-piano reduction of his Piano Concerto No. 4, containing his final revisions, when death overtook him. Robert Russell Bennett completed the reduction at the request of Rachmaninoff's widow.

Musical profile

Schooled by his mother to disdain popular music, Robert Russell Bennett found the dichotomy between his serious compositions and his arranging work to be a lifelong struggle. In spite of his prolific output, which included the opera ''Maria Malibran'', more than seven symphonies, a large variety of chamber works, and at least five concertos, his reputation today as a classical composer rests primarily on two oft-recorded pieces, the Suite of Old American Dances and Symphonic Songs for Band. This may be attributed both to the modesty so characteristic of Bennett and to the

Eastman Wind Ensemble The Eastman Wind Ensemble was founded by conductor Frederick Fennell at the Eastman School of Music in 1952. The ensemble is often credited with helping redefine the performance of wind band music. Considered one of America's leading wind ensemble ...

recordings which popularized them. In his composing, Bennett brought to bear his considerable talent for orchestration as well as a gift for conceiving melodies and harmonic structure in his head; longtime Bennett copyist Adele Combattente (of Chappell Music) confirmed his ability to write parts in score order, as opposed to filling in leftover parts and doublings as he completed primary melodic lines. He nearly always scored directly in ink, rather than pencil. Many of Bennett's original works came about through direct commission; the 1939 World's Fair, CBS radio ("Hollywood" for orchestra), and the League of Composers ("Mademoiselle" for the Goldman Band) provide prominent examples. A significant number of commissions were initiated by Robert Austin Boudreau, a former member of the Goldman Band, and his American Wind Symphony. The AWS traveled via American rivers and waterways, inspiring several works with nautical themes, including the Ohio River Suite and West Virginia Epic. Boudreau would provide a basic concept to Bennett, who would complete the new work rapidly and who would always attend the premiere. Boudreau recalls, "We never offered him a lot of money for those commissions...He was an elegant person. He was always more interested in music than in dollars." Many works were written for his musical acquaintances, including ''Hexapoda'' and a concerto for violinist Louis Kaufman, ''Tema Sporca con Variazoni'' for duo-pianists Appleton and Field, Suite for Flute and B flat Clarinet for Frances Blaisdell and Alex Williams, and the Rondo Capriccioso for Georges Barrére (Bennett's friendship with flutists William Kincaid and John Wummer prompted other chamber works). In 1960, he conducted the

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. ...

, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series.

Later years and legacy

In later years, Bennett again developed major health problems. "He never talked about it, but always showed joy," Boudreau states. "It wasn't just a business relationship we had, it was more than just music. We were pals, and he would treat me as a son." Bennett did not slow his output, creating original works for the nation's bicentennial celebrations and accepting commissions from a variety of sources, including a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church in Florida, for which he accepted only a modest fee.

Death

Bennett died of

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

in 1981, aged 87. His legacy rests largely on the popular arrangements which so conflicted the composer, but those who knew him also remember him as a close friend and gracious mentor. Robert Shaw wrote, "And it is just as certainly because of his kindness, honesty, humor, and wisdom that our hearts are warmed to see Robert Russell Bennett without peer in his field." Bennett mentored Broadway and concert arranger William David Brohn; they first worked together on the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of ''Show Boat''.

List of works (incomplete)

Books

#"'The Broadway Sound': the Autobiography and Collected Essays of Robert Russell Bennett," ed. George J. Ferencz. University of Rochester Press, 1999. #''Instrumentally Speaking.'' Belwin-Mills, 1975.

Original compositions (selected)

Orchestra

#Abraham Lincoln: A Likeness in Symphony Form Abraham Lincoln" Symphony(1929) #Adagio Eroico (To The Memory of a Soldier) (c. 1932) #An Adventure in High Fidelity (1954; commissioned by RCA Victor for a demonstration LP) #Antique Suite for Clarinet and Orchestra (1941; dedicated to Benny Goodman) #Charleston Rhapsody mall orchestra(1926, rev. 1933) #Classic Serenade for Strings ortraits of Three Friends(1941) #A Commemoration Symphony: Stephen Collins Foster ATB Chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra(1959) #Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra (1971 or 1972) #Concerto for Viola, Harp and Orchestra (1940 or 1941; revised c. 1960 for cello, harp and orchestra) #Concerto for Violin in A Major (1941) #Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra (1958 or 1959) #Concerto Grosso for Dance Band and Orchestra ketches from an American Theatre(1932) #Concert Variations on a Crooner's Theme iolin and orchestra(1949) #A Dry Weather Legend lute and orchestra(1946) #An Early American Ballade on Melodies of Stephen Foster mall orchestra(1932) #Eight Etudes For Symphony Orchestra (1938) #"The Four Freedoms"—A Symphony after Four Paintings by Norman Rockwell (1943) #Hollywood ntroduction and Scherzo(1936) #Kansas City Album even Songs for Orchestra(1949) #March for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1930) #Nocturne and Appassionata iano and orchestra(1941) #Orchestral Fragments from the American Opera "Maria Malibran" (1934) #Overture To An Imaginary Drama edicated to Fritz Mahler(1946) #Overture to the Mississippi (1950) #Paysage

andscape ''Andscape'', formerly ''The Undefeated'', is a sports and pop culture website owned and operated by ESPN. Launched May 17, 2016, the site describes itself as "the premier platform for exploring the intersections of race, sports and culture." ...

(1927 or 1928) #Piano Concerto in B Minor (1947) #Sights and Sounds n Orchestral Entertainment(1929) #Six Variations in Fox-Trot Time on a Theme by Jerome Kern hamber orchestra(1933) # Suite of Old American Dances (1950 orchestration of his 1949 original for concert band) #Symphony 1(1926) #Symphony edicated to Fritz Reiner(1962) #Symphony in D for the Dodgers (1941; a WOR radio commission, with narrator "Red" Barber in the final movement)

Stage works

#Columbine antomime ballet w/theater orchestra(1916) #Crystal pera(1972) #The Enchanted Kiss pera(1944 or 1945) #Endimion peretta-ballet(1926 or 1927) #Hold Your Horses usical comedy; words and music by Russell Bennett, Robert A. Simon and Owen Murphy(1933) #An Hour of Delusion ne-act opera(1928) #Maria Malibran pera; libretto by Robert A. Simon(1934) # Princess Charming usical play; music and lyrics mostly by Albert Sirmay and Harry Ruby, with additional songs by Russell Bennett and Jack Waller(1926)

Incidental music

#The Firebrand lay by Edwin Justus Mayer; music by Bennett and Maurice Nitke(1924) #Hamlet tarring John Barrymore(1922) #Macbeth tarring Lionel Barrymore(1921) #Romeo and Juliet tarring Ethel Barrymore(1922)

Concert band or wind orchestra

#Autobiography (1977) #Christmas Overture (1980 or 1981) #Concerto Grosso for Wind Quintet and Wind Orchestra (1957) #Down to the Sea in Ships (1969, from the NBC TV Film "Project 20") #Fanfare for the American Wind Symphony (1981) #Fountain Lake Fanfare

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

(1939; for the New York World's Fair) #Four Preludes for Band (1974) #Mademoiselle (1952) #Ohio River Suite (1959) #Overture to The Pickle Suite (1969) #Overture to Ty, Tris and Willie (1961) #Rose Variations ornet/trumpet and band(1955) # Suite of Old American Dances (1949) # Symphonic Songs for Band (1957) #The Pickle (poem by Sara Henderson Hay) (1969) #Three Humoresques (c. 1961) #A TNT Cocktail (1939; for the New York World's Fair) #Tone Poems for Band (1939; for the New York World's Fair) #Track Meet (1960) #West Virginia Epic (1960) #Zimmer's American Greeting arrator and wind orchestra(1974)

Chamber music

#Allemande (violin and piano, 1947 or 1948) #Arabesque (brass quintet, 1978) #Clarinet Quartet (late 1920s?) #Dance (flute and piano, 1928) #Dance Scherzo (wind quintet, 1937) #Five Improvisations on Exotic Scales (flute, cello, piano, 1947) #Five Tune Cartoons (violin and piano, 1948) #Four Dances for Piano Trio (1953 or 1954) #Hexapoda five studies in Jitteroptera"(violin and piano, 1940) #Nocturne (flute and piano, 1928) #Rondo Capriccioso (four flutes, 1916) #Six Souvenirs (two flutes and piano, 1948) #Sonata (violin and piano, 1927) #Sonatine (soprano and harp, 1947) #A Song Sonata (violin and piano, 1947) #String Quartet (1956) #Suite for Flute and B flat Clarinet (c. 1958; published 1973) #Tema Sporca (two pianos, four hands, 1946) #Toy Symphony (wind quintet, 1928) #Trio (flute, cello, piano, 1950 or 1951) #Trio (harp, cello, flute, c. 1960) #Water Music (string quartet, 1937)

Keyboard works

#Four Nocturnes (accordion, 1959) #Seven Fox Trots in Concert Form (piano, 1928) #Sonata in G (organ, 1929) #Sonatina (piano, c. 1941) #Second Sonatina (piano, c. 1944) #VU ("Seen in Paris") 0 etudes in miniature, from the 20 arrondissements of Paris(1929)

Broadway arrangements and orchestrations (a selection)

# Hirsch: ''

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

'' (1920) # Friml, Hammerstein and Harbach: ''

Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a F ...

'' (1924) # Gershwin: '' Oh, Kay!'' (1926) # Kern and Hammerstein: ''

'' (1927) (new orchestrations 1946 and 1966) # Gershwin: ''

Girl Crazy ''Girl Crazy'' is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Co-leads Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman made their stage debuts in the first production and Rogers became an overnight sta ...

'' (1930) # Gershwin: ''

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for Preside ...

'' (1931) # Kern and Harbach: ''The Cat and the Fiddle'' (1931) # Kern and Hammerstein: '' Music in the Air'' (1932)"Orchestrator on His Own"
– ''Time Magazine (Monday, Dec. 12, 1932)'' (Retrieved on May 1, 2008) # Porter: ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madc ...

'' (1934) (with Hans Spialek) # Porter: ''

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

'' (1935) # Rodgers and Hammerstein: ''

'' (1943) # Bizet, Hammerstein: '' Carmen Jones'' (1943) (shared with

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

, composer of the 1875 opera ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'') # Irving Berlin: ''

Annie Get Your Gun Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (Malayalam actress) (born 1975), Indian actress who works in Malayalam-language films * ...

'' (1946) # Harburg and Lane: ''

Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was re ...

'' (1947) (shared with Don Walker) # Rodgers and Hammerstein: ''

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking that indicates to playing quickly and brightly (from Italian meaning ''cheerful'') * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem b ...

'' (1947) # Porter: ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...

'' (1948) # Rodgers and Hammerstein: ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

'' (1949) # Rodgers and Hammerstein: ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

'' (1951) # Rodgers and Hammerstein: '' Pipe Dream'' (1955) # Lerner and Loewe: ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' (1956) (shared with Philip J. Lang) # Styne, Comden, and Green: '' Bells Are Ringing'' (1956) # Rodgers and Hammerstein: ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...

'' (1958) # Rodgers and Hammerstein: ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' (1959) # Lerner and Loewe: ''

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

'' (1960) (shared with Philip J. Lang) # Lerner and Lane: ''

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on ''Berkeley Square'', written in 1926 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been ...

'' (1965) Bennett also did the orchestrations for the 1936 film version of ''Show Boat'', and for the 1955 film version of ''Oklahoma!'' Some of his stage orchestrations were used in the 1958 film version of ''

'', and the 1956 film version of ''The King and I'' and by Irwin Kostal for the 1965 film version of ''The Sound of Music.'' He conducted Rodgers' ''

'' which was the soundtrack for the early 1950s TV documentary series of the same name; it was one of the first of its kind and billed as one most ambitious. RCA Victor released 5 volumes of music from the Rodgers' ''Victory at Sea'' score, all conducted by Robert Russell Bennett with cover art by Victor Kalin. (Vol. 1 - LM-2335; Vol. 2 - LM-2226; Vol.3 - ANL 1-1432; Three Suites; Video Disk) He also orchestrated the score for the original television broadcast of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' in 1957.

Concert arrangements

In 1942, Bennett arranged '' Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture'' as configured by conductor

Fritz Reiner Frederick Martin Reiner (; December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was an American conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to promine ...

, using melodies from

's now-celebrated

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. Bennett's arrangements were largely based on Gershwin's original orchestrations for the opera. Bennett was also responsible for '' The Many Moods of Christmas'', a 1963 48-minute medley of

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

s, arranged especially for the

Robert Shaw Chorale The Robert Shaw Chorale was a renowned professional choir founded in New York City in 1948 by Robert Shaw, a Californian who had been drafted out of college a decade earlier by Fred Waring to conduct his glee club in radio broadcasts. History ...

and Orchestra. They recorded it that year, and in 1983, Robert Shaw re-recorded it with the Atlanta Symphony Chorus and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Among his published orchestra medleys for Broadway shows (including some for which others had done the original pit orchestrations) are those for ''Oklahoma!'', ''Carousel'', ''Allegro'', ''Finian's Rainbow'', ''Brigadoon'', ''Lady in the Dark'', ''Kiss Me, Kate'', ''South Pacific'', ''Roberta'', ''The King and I'', ''Me and Juliet'', ''My Fair Lady'', ''Gigi'', ''Flower Drum Song'', ''The Sound of Music'', ''Camelot'', ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'', and ''Funny Girl'', as well as extended "symphonic picture" settings of ''The Sound of Music'' and ''My Fair Lady''. His concert band medleys include those of ''Porgy and Bess'', ''The King and I'', ''Carousel Waltzes'', ''Me and Juliet'', ''Silk Stockings'', ''My Fair Lady'', ''Gigi'', ''The Sound of Music'', ''Funny Girl'', and ''Do I Hear a Waltz?'' The 40-minute ''Porgy and Bess: Concert Version'' for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus and orchestra was prepared in 1956. It is based very closely on Gershwin's original instrumental and vocal scoring, the principal recasting being the use of standard concert-orchestra instrumentation, and eliminating the clarinet-saxophone doubling specified in Gershwin's 1935 orchestration.

Awards and honors

The Tony Award for orchestrations has only existed since 1997; Bennett was given a Special Tony Award in 1957 and again in 2008 "in recognition of his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations, as represented on Broadway this season by Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific." Other honors have included his

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for the film ''

'', a 1962

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

award, television's

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organizatio ...

in 1960, the City of New York's Handel Medallion in 1967, Los Angeles's honorary Scroll in 1979, and an honorary doctorate from

Franklin and Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...

in 1965. Bennett was the first president of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC).

References

External links

* *
Robert Russell Bennett biography at Naxos.comRoy Benton Hawkins' dissertation on the life and work of Robert Russell BennettFind a Grave - Robert Russell Bennett
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Robert Russell 1894 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers American film score composers American male classical composers American male film score composers Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Classical musicians from Missouri Composers for harmonica Concert band composers Deaths from liver cancer in New York (state) Distinguished Service to Music Medal recipients George Gershwin RCA Victor artists Special Tony Award recipients United States Army Band musicians American music arrangers