Stevens, Bernard (George)

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Stevens, Bernard (George)

Stevens, Bernard (George), English composer; b. London, March 2, 1916; d. Great Maplestead, Essex, Jan. 2, 1983. He studied composition with Dent and Rootham at Cambridge (1934–37) and with Morris and Jacob at the Royal Coll. of Music in London (1937–40), where he was named a prof. of composition in 1948; received his Mus.D. from the Univ. of Cambridge in 1968. He wrote a number of works for various instrumental combinations; his music adheres to traditional concepts of harmony, while the programmatic content is often colored by his radical political beliefs.

Works

ORCH .: Violin Concerto (1943); Ricercar for Strings (1944); A Symphony of Liberation (1945); Cello Concerto (1952); Piano Concerto (1955); Sym. No. 2 (1964); Choriamb (1968); Introduction, Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Giles Farnaby (1972). CHAMBER : Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano (1966); Suite for 6 Instruments (1967); The Bramble Briar for Guitar (1974); piano pieces. VOCAL : 3 cantatas: The Harvest of Peace (1952), The Pilgrims of Hope (1956), and Et resurrexit (1969); The Turning World for Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (1971).

Bibliography

B. Stevens, ed., B. S. and His Music: A Symposium (White Plains, N.Y., 1989).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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