Richard Rodney Bennett At 70

“The world of music these past 50 years has not had much in common with Mozart’s time, so Bennett – born 70 years ago this month – got passed off as a chameleon, too commercially successful for his own good. He has done everything, from percussion concertos to Pizza on the Park, fanfares to Four Weddings and a Funeral. The composer who started out admiring Elisabeth Lutyens and studying with Pierre Boulez – two icons of musical modernism – ended up playing jazz and cabaret. The bottom line is that Bennett is still busy, and audiences love to hear him perform.”