Although Lennox Berkeley, born near Oxford on 12th May 1903, had begun composing as a child, he did not initially plan a career in music. He studied at Gresham’s School, Holt (which his colleague and sometime collaborator Benjamin Britten was to attend a decade later), then read French and Philology at Merton College, Oxford. and read Modern Languages at Oxford. There he wrote his first published work, a song The Thresher, and after encouragement from Ravel he moved to Paris in 1926 to study with Nadia Boulanger. During this time he met Stravinsky and A nephew of the church reformer John Wesley and son of Charles Wesley, becoming a life-long friend of the latter.
In 1928 he became a Roman Catholic, which was to have a profound effect on his work. During the Second World War, he worked as programme planner for the BBC in London, and married Elizabeth Freda Bernstein in 1946 (his eldest son, Michael, has achieved recognition as a composer in his own right).
Another significant friendship was begun in 1936 at the ISCM Festival in Barcelona, when he met Britten, with whom he composed Mont Juic, based on Catalan folk-tunes they heard in a park. Despite being ten years Berkeleys junior, Britten was an important mentor to him in his development. Berkeleys reputation was established in the early 1940s with the premires of the Serenade for Strings (1939), First Symphony (1940) and Divertimento (1943).
Apart from Ravel, Faure, the neoclassical works of Stravinsky and Britten, Berkeleys personal voice was also influenced by Mozart and Chopin. His music is marked by elegance, charm, wit and masterly craftsmanship.
Apart from composing, Berkeley taught from 1946 to 1968 at the Royal Academy, where his pupils included John Tavener, Richard Rodney Bennett, William Mathias and Nicholas Maw. He was knighted in 1974. Other honours include the Papal Knighthood of St Gregory (1973), a doctorate from Oxford University (1970) and membership of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1980). During 1976-79 he was a Professor at Keele University, and from 1977 to 1983 was President of the Cheltenham Festival. His later years were marked by declining health, but he continued composing regularly until his 75th year. Berkeley died in London on 26th December 1989.
Although his early years were marked by uncertainty over stylistic direction, Berkeley amassed a catalogue of over a hundred works and contributed to almost every genre. His major works included four operas, four symphonies and several concertos, while his choral music [a selection is on Naxos 8.557277] ranks among the most significant from British composers of his generation. His chamber output includes pieces written for a wide variety of ensembles and combinations. Central to this are the three string quartets that occur at regular intervals during the first half of his career. Among his finest achievements are the one-movement Third Symphony (1969), Horn Trio (1953) and the Four Poems of St Teresa of Avila (1947). His legacy also includes a significant body of compositions setting sacred texts and liturgy. These sprang from his strong personal faith, and membership of the Roman Catholic Church.
In an article "Truth in Music" (1966), Berkeley offered his views about composing works for the church: Being a Roman Catholic, I have naturally been drawn to the Latin liturgy and felt at home with it; its part of my life, and I have wanted to bring to it what I have to offer, however unworthy.
