Mason, Benedict (1954 -)

[Guest]

An interesting and innovative British composer who turned to composition after several years working on
experimental film projects. Since the early 1990s Mason has, amongst other things, composed a number
of venue specific works under the heading 'Music for Concert Halls'. Mason has composed two such works
for the RAH, the Clarinet Concerto (1995) and Meld (2014).

Meld, a Proms commission, was performed at the RAH in 2014 (Prom 41) by Chantage and the Aurora
Orchestra. An excellent film of the performance is available from at least two sources:

https://vimeo.com/171614403

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0580cb7

Sadly, Mason's discography is rather limited - I can find only one CD (albeit a good one) dedicated to his
music that is currently in print:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Benedict-Mason-Chamber-Orchestral-Works/dp/B000003GJ3/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=benedict+mason&qid=1588677908&s=music&sr=1-1

Even his attractive orchestral piece 'Lighthouses of England and Wales' has never been reissued. There
are also a few bits and pieces on Youtube.

[jayne lee wilson]

I recall taping Lighthouses off air, IIRC a Proms Premiere? Not sure.... yes, a shame the discography barely exists....

Two Releases listed here......

https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/composer/1008/Benedict-Mason/

Maybe NMC could pick up on this....

[Bryn]

I recall taping Lighthouses off air, IIRC a Proms Premiere? Not sure.... yes, a shame the discography barely exists....

There was an Invitation Concert in 1990, and Ilan Volkov was scheduled to conduct the BBCSSO in it much more recently but I am not sure whether or not that performance was broadcast, or even whether the performance went ahead.

[jayne lee wilson]

There was an Invitation Concert in 1990, and Ilan Volkov was scheduled to conduct the BBCSSO in it much more recently but I am not sure whether or not that performance was broadcast, or even whether the performance went ahead.

....listed under "past performances".... 9/12/2010....

https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/performances/search/work/8142/

[LMcD]

There are 23 entries for Benedict Mason in the BBC Genome.

[Bryn]

....listed under "past performances".... 9/12/2010....

https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/p...rch/work/8142/

That's the one. Unfortunately, I can find no evidence of a broadcast of or from that concert.

[LMcD]

That's the one. Unfortunately, I can find no evidence of a broadcast of or from that concert.

BBC broadcasts (some presumably repeats) of 'Lighthouses of England and Wales' in the period covered by the BBC Genome:
12/2/1990 BBC SO Oliver Knussen
26/1/1991 BBC SO Lothar Zagrosek
18/1/1992 - BBC SO/Lothar Zagrosek
3/5/1999 - BBC SO Matthias Bamert
12/12/1999 - BBC NOW Jac van Steen
27/3/2006 - BBC NOW Jac van Steen
8/7/2006 - BBC SO Lothar Zagrosek

[Bryn]

BBC broadcasts (some presumably repeats) of 'Lighthouses of England and Wales' in the period covered by the BBC Genome:
12/2/1990 BBC SO Julian Yu
26/1/1991 BBC SO Lothar Zagrosek
18/1/1992 - BBC SO/Lothar Zagrosek
3/5/1999 - BBC SO Matthias Bamert
12/12/1999 - BBC NOW Jac van Steen
27/3/2006 - BBC NOW Jac van Steen
8/7/2006 - BBC SO Lothar Zagrosek

I'm currently in the process of backing up the content of some old hard drives to an 8TB one I got last year and forgot all about. I will try and find one or more saves of those broadcasts while I am at it. It's a relatively slow process, so don't expect results very soon. The copying (USB2 to USB3) is estimated to take around 12 hours per TB. and I have at least 7TB to back up.

[Serial_Apologist]

BBC broadcasts (some presumably repeats) of 'Lighthouses of England and Wales' in the period covered by the BBC Genome:
12/2/1990 BBC SO Julian Yu
26/1/1991 BBC SO Lothar Zagrosek
18/1/1992 - BBC SO/Lothar Zagrosek
3/5/1999 - BBC SO Matthias Bamert
12/12/1999 - BBC NOW Jac van Steen
27/3/2006 - BBC NOW Jac van Steen
8/7/2006 - BBC SO Lothar Zagrosek

Like Jayne, I taped the piece - and it was from a Prom concert. Benedict Mason seems to have received somewhat short sherift on this forum in previous discussions. I always thought of "Lighthouses" as a contemporary take on Debussy's La mer There was a subsequent Concerto for the Viola Section which was presented as a summation of the compser's studies into 20th century methods of orchestration, for which he seemed to have considerable talent, and which I alsio have on casssette. Later works making use of elaborate installations, including tributes to Cage and Schumann, did not, for probably understandable reasons, seem to come over quite as well on broadcast.

[LMcD]

Like Jayne, I taped the piece - and it was from a Prom concert. Benedict Mason seems to have received somewhat short sherift on this forum in previous discussions. I always thought of "Lighthouses" as a contemporary take on Debussy's La mer There was a subsequent Concerto for the Viola Section which was presented as a summation of the compser's studies into 20th century methods of orchestration, for which he seemed to have considerable talent, and which I alsio have on casssette. Later works making use of elaborate installations, including tributes to Cage and Schumann, did not, for probably understandable reasons, seem to come over quite as well on broadcast.

The only works by Benedict Mason performed at the Proms appear to be the Concerto for Clarinet (16/8/1995) and Meld (28/7/2012 and 16/8/2014).

[Pulcinella]

The liner notes in the Collins CD Single release of Lighthouses..... (20042; BBCSO/Zagrosek, recorded in Abbey Road in January 1991) say that the first performance was in April 1989 by the BBCSO under Oliver Knussen.

[LMcD]

The liner notes in the Collins CD Single release of Lighthouses..... (20042; BBCSO/Zagrosek, recorded in Abbey Road in January 1991) say that the first performance was in April 1989 by the BBCSO under Oliver Knussen.

A performance by these forces aired at 2215 on 12/2/1990 - a broadcast that (clearly!) I did not discover during my previous 'trawl' through the Genome.

[Pulcinella]

A performance by these forces aired at 2215 on 12/2/1990 - a broadcast that (clearly!) I did not discover during my previous 'trawl' through the Genome.

So is the conductor simply misattributed in the list you gave from your earlier trawl?

[LMcD]

So is the conductor simply misattributed in the list you gave from your earlier trawl?

Sorry - the conductor was indeed Oliver Knussen. Original post corrected!