User:JackofOz/Published Letters to Editors
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28 March 1998 - Canberra Times (CT) - Media careless of correct terminology
14 October 1998 - CT - Farewell to the Empire (Robert Macklin in Capital Times quoted a part of the letter, adding "Good One, John")
28 March 2001 & 30 March 2001 - CT - feedback about my quest to find the correct pronunciation of "Greenough"
6 July 2001 - CT - Our anthem should be a blend of two songs
24 July 2001 - CT - Why did Nationals endorse Katter?
6 August 2001 - CT - Omitted quotes can mislead
17 November 2001 - CT - Austrian, not Australian!
15 February 2002 - CT (Capital Times) - Easy winner of the Famous People with the Same Name competition
27 February, 6 March & 8 March 2002 - CT (Capital Times) - Happy Days
16 March 2002 - CT - Nothing for Kirby to "admit"
14 September 2004 - The Age - Debate is not about winners and losers
27 September 2004 - The Age - Belated Launches
11 October 2005 - The Age - Aged masthead has had its day
- feedback letters 12 and 13 October
17 December 2005 - The Age - All change
24 April 2007 - The Age - Princess Bess?
| Date | Work | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1912 | Clarinet Quintet | |
| c. 1912 | Scherzo in B minor, clarinet & piano | |
| 1914 | Three Dance Scherzi | The second was written while on active service in France "in remembrance of happy nights spent at Drury Lane, Russian season, 1914." It was first heard at an RCM concert. |
| 1918 | Violin Sonata in E minor | Unpublished; the only surviving work of that year and one of very few to be written by Benjamin during World War I |
| 1919 | Three Impressions, voice & string quartet | Published 1920 |
| 1919 | Rhapsody on Negro Themes, orchestra | |
| 1922 | Before Dawn, song | words by Walter de la Mare |
| 1922 | Diaphenia, song | words by Henry Constable |
| 1922 | Hey Nonny No!, song | anon words |
| 1922 | Man and Woman, song | words by Peter Antony Motteux |
| 1922 | The Moon, song | words by Hugh McCrae |
| 1922 | The Mouse, song | words by McCrae |
| 1922 | The Piper, song | words by Seumas O'Sullivan |
| 1922 | To Phyllis, milking the flock, song | words by William Drummond |
| 1923 | Five Pieces for cello | |
| 1924 | Three Pieces for violin & piano | Arabesque, Humoresque and Carnavalesque; Grove V dates these 1919 |
| 1924 | String Quartet No. 1 (Pastorale Fantasia) | Benjamin's first published work; awarded the 1924 Carnegie Prize |
| 1924 | Sonatina for violin and piano | Published 1925 |
| 1924 | Odds and Ends, piano pieces in 2 books | |
| 1925 | Three Mystical Songs, unaccompanied chorus | "I See His Blood Upon the Rose" (S solo SSATB; words Joseph Mary Plunkett); subtle expansion and contraction of harmony through the chords of D, C and B flat and a final vibrant resolution onto the chord of G form the harmonic basis of this fervent piece. The second, (SATB; words Ralph Hodgson) "The Mystery" is more reflective, more contrapuntal, and uses free imitation. The last of the three is "He is the Lonely Greatness" (SSATB; words Madeline Caron Rock). Two of the set are dedicated to Herbert Howells. ... |
| 1926 | Suite for solo piano | Published 1927 |
| 1927 | Concertino for piano and orchestra | The Concertino, clearly jazz influenced, was inspired by Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Benjamin was the soloist in the U.K. premiere of Rhapsody in Blue. The Concertino was written in 1927 at the request of the publisher Schott. Its premiere took place in Dusseldorf inj 1928. The work received its first U.K. airing at the Proms on 1 September 1928 with the composer as soloist and Henry Wood conducting. The Concertino is scored for an ordinary small orchestra, with the addition of an alto saxophone in E flat. "There are four sections (Allegro non troppo e ritmico; Andante poco lente (quasi Blues); Scherzo and Trio; and Come primo ma poco meno allegro), forming one continuous movement. The Concertino and the Concerto Quasi Una Fantasia were recorded by Lamar Crowson and the LSO conducted by Benjamin. It appears that the two pieces were taped in the late 1950s although the record itself was not issued in the U.K. until January 1973. |
| 1928 | 'Light Music Suite’ | Revised 1933. This is in four movements: 1. March; 2. Pastorale; 3. Viennese Waltz; 4. Introduction and Final Dance. |
| 1928 | Three Little Pieces, piano | |
| 1929 | Saxophone Blues | Dedicated to Herbert Howells |
| 1931 | The Devil Take Her, comic opera in a prologue and one act | Libretto by Alan Collard and John B. Gordon, about a poet who restores his wife's voice and lives to regret it; produced at the RCM on 1 December 1931 conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. The work was broadcast on the Third Programme (18 June 1967) in a performance conducted by Bryden Thomson. |
| 1932 | Violin Concerto | The three movements are: Rhapsody - Allegro giusto; Intermezzo - Andante piacevole; and Rondo - Allegro vivo (ma non troppo presto). The concerto, written in the wake of Walton's Viola Concerto, is dedicated to "William Walton with great admiration". Premiered by Antonio Brosa and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the composer, on 29 January 1933. Following the premiere, Ernest Newman praised the Violin Concerto as "... really masterly in its concision ... I find the ideas refreshingly vital". It was played again in a series of six BBC concerts at the Queen’s Hall 1-12 January 1934. There were post-war performances in Manchester by the BBC Northern Orchestra (1 December 1956, 8 September 1957, 18 September 1959, 30 September 1961). On 1 July 1965 Alberto Bolet was the soloist with the BBC Welsh SO. On 12 July 1989 there was a performance in Australia. The work was later championed by Frederick Grinke. |
| 1933 | Prima Donna, one-act comedy opera | This was first produced on 23 February 1949 in London at the Fortune Theatre. It was revived by the BBC on 19 September 1965 (the BBC Studio Company, BBC Midland Light Orchestra conducted by Stanford Robinson) and by the RCM in July 1985. Howells wrote of the score's "innate technical perfection" and stated that: "the etched clarity of the music raised the work to the level of Puccini's Gianni Schichi". |
| 1934 | Three Greek Poems, songs (trans. R H Benson) | "The Flower Girl"; "On Deck"; "A Wine Jug" |
| 1934 | The Scarlet Pimpernel, film score | Benjamin's first film score; an adaptation of music from the Napoleonic era; incorporates a variation on La Marseillaise; Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik also makes an appearance in one scene |
| 1934 | The Man Who Knew Too Much, film score | Benjamin composed a dramatic "Storm Clouds" cantata, to words by Wyndham Lewis, for a tension-filled scene in the Royal Albert Hall during which the heroine of the film must stop an assassin from shooting a visiting prime minister. The assassin has memorized the music by listening to a recording and waits patiently for the thunderous climax of cymbals which will muffle the sound of his gun. But the heroine, in desperation, screams just at the moment when the cymbals crash. The prime minister is distracted by her scream and the assassin’s bullet only wounds him. The London Symphony Orchestra with a chorus, conducted by H. Wynn Reeves, performed the cantata before a live audience of extras gathered at the Albert Hall. The performance was recorded during the filming and so it could be played back for editors to match the scenes to the music. In the 1956 remake of the film, the score was by Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann however included Benjamin's cantata (with some changes) in the concluding Albert Hall concert sequence. In fact the film features far more of the cantata than in the 1934 original. The orchestra was again the LSO with the Covent Garden Chorus and Barbara Howitt as the soprano soloist. The film shows Herrmann himself as the conductor, and Benjamin’s name appears briefly on a poster outside the Albert Hall announcing the performance. |
| 1934 | The Clairvoyant, film score (aka The Evil Mind) | Starred Claude Rains |
| 1935 | "Heritage", Ceremonial March for orchestra, with ad lib parts for solo voice and chorus | It was recorded by the New Concert Orchestra and Frederic Curzon. It is a work of much bustle and glitter complete with a nobilmente section to offset the otherwise breathless and headlong pace. "Heritage" also exists as a song for voice and piano, also from 1935 |
| 1935 | Fantasies, 6 educational pieces for piano in 2 books | |
| 1935 | Wharves and Strays, film score | |
| 1935 | Turn of the Tide, film score | Benjamin also conducted the music |
| 1935 | Life of a Lobster, score for 16-min short film (aka Lobsters) | |
| 1935 | The Guv'nor (aka Mister Hobo), film score | |
| 1936 | Let's Go Hiking, 5 piano pieces | |
| 1936 | Chinoiserie, piano piece | |
| 1936 | Pastorale, Arioso and Finale, piano | This triptychal work was composed as a "21st birthday gift for Jack Henderson". Henderson was an employee at Boosey's, Benjamin's publishers, and became Benjamin's companion and his musical executor. The slow movement is Bach-like though with a romantic overlay. The final movement is a glittering toccata. The movements are: Allegretto piacevole (G minor); Adagio con espressione (C minor); and Allegro con spirito (G major). |
| 1936 | Scherzino, piano | |
| 1936 | Siciliana, piano | |
| 1936 | Shepherd's Holiday, song | words Elinor Wylie |
| 1936 | Wind's Work, song | words T Sturge Moore |
| 1937 | "Overture to an Italian Comedy" | Premiere 2 March 1937 in London. It is a buffa style work in G major carrying a dedication to Muir Mathieson. It was intended as an opener to Prima Donna, which was written in 1933 but not produced until 1949. |
| 1937 | Romantic Fantasy for Violin, Viola and Orchestra | Composed in 1937 (1935, according to Grove V, which spells Fantasy as Phantasy). Dedicated to Arnold Bax with whom Benjamin had some informal lessons during the early 1920s. The work took its theme from one of Bax's early works. Benjamin conducted the first performance on 24 March 1938 as part of a Royal Philharmonic Society Concert. His soloists were the violinist Eda Kersey (who in 1943 premiered the Bax Violin Concerto) and the violist Bernard Shore. It is in three continuous movements: Nocturne; Scherzo and Sonata. Recorded by Jascha Heifetz and William Primrose in 1945 but not issued until 1965 on the RCA label. The horn soloist, Joseph Eger, is separately credited, probably because of the prominently ripe role given to the instrument. The orchestra is the RCA-Victor Orchestra conducted by Izler Solomon. This is surely one performance with which the composer must have been well satisfied. The Fantasy has had a comparatively rich performance history: BBC SO 2 January 1939; Goteborgs Orkester 30 March 1939, BBC Promenade concert 18 September 1953, Japan Philharmonic SO 18 January 1968, BBC Scottish SO 6 May 1970, Orchestra Sinfonica Colombia 21 October 1983, City of London Sinfonia 21 January 1987, BBC 25 March and 7 April 1990 and RCM conducted by John Wilson on 20 April 1995. In the United States it has received several performances, including one given on National Public Radio, with David and Joan Korman, the St Louis Symphony Orchestra and Raymond Leppard. More recently the orchestra repeated the work in a concert conducted by Leonard Slatkin on 5 May 1994. Before that the Fantasy was broadcast in a truly outstanding performance, by Joseph and William de Pasquale, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy. This recording has gained some prominence in radio tapes issued to various foreign broadcasting companies. |
| 1937 | Nightingale Lane, two voices and piano | words by William Sharp |
| 1937 | Three partsongs, two voices and piano | words by Kate Greenaway; "Bell Song", "Margery Brown"; "Prince Finnikin" |
| 1937 | Tune and Variations for Little People, violin and piano | |
| 1937 | Three New Fantasies, piano | "Dance at Dawn"; "March"; "Drifting" |
| 1937 | Forest Pieces, piano | |
| 1937 | Haunted House, piano | |
| 1937 | Rainy Day, piano | |
| 1937 | Squirrels Parade, piano | |
| 1937 | Action for Slander, film score | uncredited |
| 1937 | Wings of the Morning, film score | The first British Technicolour feature film, starring Henry Fonda and 'Annabella' and including a guest singing appearance for John McCormack, who sings four songs sung at a party scene at Clontarf castle. McCormack had not sung for several years at that point, and died in 1945. The orchestrator was the uncredited Roy Douglas. |
| 1937 | Under the Red Robe, film score | His last score before leaving for Canada; starred Conrad Veidt. |
| 1937 | The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel, film score | Sequel to the 1934 film |
| 1938 | Two Jamaican Pieces | 1. Jamaican Song; 2. Jamaican Rumba. "Jamaican Rumba" was written originally for two pianos, in the space of a single morning, for two of his students who were giving their first recital. These were the Irish pianists Valerie and Joan Trimble, to whom it was dedicated. The piece was influenced by his time in the West Indies and Latin America where he taught and was a travelling examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, and took every opportunity to soak up the local colour. The Two Jamaican Pieces were premiered in a studio performance by Sir Anthony Lewis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra on 31 October 1938. There is a transcription of this work and "From San Domingo" (1945) for viola and piano. These were recorded by William Primrose and Vladimir Sokoloff. Alternative versions of the Rumba abound but they are by hands other than Benjamin's. There is even a version for harmonica and orchestra recorded by Larry Adler. ??? orchestrated 1942. |
| 1938 | Cotillon: Suite of English Dance Tunes, orchestra | First performed on 3 February 1939by the BBC SO underClarence Raybould in the studio. The tunes are from "The Dancing Master", a collection of dance tunes published by Pearson and Young in London in 1719. The movements are 1. Introduction - Lord Hereford's Delight; 2. Daphne's Delight; 3. Marlborough's Victory; 4. Love's Triumph; 5. Jigg it a foot; 6. The Charmer; 7. Nymph Divine; 8 The Tattler; 9. Argyle. |
| 1938 | Sonatina for cello and piano | Written for the 13-year old Canadian cellist Lorne Munroe, whom he had accompanied on a concert tour of Europe in 1935, and who later became the principal cellist with the Philadelphia and New York Philharmonic orchestras and recorded the piece. |
| 1938 | For a Festive Occasion, Four Fanfares | They achieved wide circulation as a result of being performed at the wedding of Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) and Prince Philip in November 1947. Along with John Ireland, Arthur Bliss, Haydn Wood and Frederick Curzon (the conductor of the Heritage recording), Benjamion was asked by Ralph Hawkes for a fanfare piece for new trumpets recently manufactured by Boosey & Hawkes. |
| 1938 | The Rebel Son, film score | aka The Barbarian and the Lady, and The Rebel Son of Taras Bulba; uncredited – the film also used music by Ernst Toch |
| 1940 | Sonatina for Chamber Orchestra | |
| 1941 | Prelude to a Holiday, Rondo for orchestra | First performed in Indianapolis on 17 January 1941 (** therefore must have been written prior to 1941 **). British premiere at the Albert Hall on 6 August 1942 by the BBC SO and Sir Henry Wood. Chosen for performance at the 1942 ISCM festival in San Francisco |
| 1941 | Orchestration of "Praeludium in B minor" by Mendelssohn | |
| 1941 | Orchestration of two Mendelssohn pieces: 'Prelude', & 'Fugue’, Op.7/5 | |
| 1941 | Elegiac Mazurka | Commissioned as part of the memorial volume "Homage to Paderewski" in honour of the Polish pianist and composer who had died that year |
| 1941 | Sir Christemas, baritone and unaccompanied chorus | Based on a traditional air |
| 1942 | Oboe Concerto | Arrangement of keyboard sonatas of Domenico Cimarosa, and often inaccurately billed as "Cimarosa’s Oboe Concerto, arranged by Arthur Benjamin". Written after hearing Evelyn Rothwell play the Pergolesi Oboe Concerto in Vancouver under her husband Sir John barbirolli. It was premiered in Vancouver at a (???) 1941 promenade concert. |
| 1942 | Two partsongs for unaccompanied chorus | words by David MacCaughie: Dirge; Spring |
| 1942 | Sonata for viola and piano; aka "Elegy, Waltz and Toccata" | Written for and dedicated to William Primrose. There are three movements. The first is an Elegy which includes a cadenza. The sonata ends with a Toccata. Premiered by William Primrose and the composer in Vancouver, 14 October 1942. Benjamin simultaneously prepared the work as a concerto for viola and orchestra, in which form it was given its premiere by Frederick Riddle and the Hallé Orchestra at the Cheltenham Festival on 30 June 1948, conducted by Barbirolli. Riddle later recorded the work in its sonata version with the pianist Wilfred Parry for the BBC. Primrose and Vladimir Sokoloff recorded the work on 78s. In addition there is a Melodiya recording. |
| 1945 | Symphony No 1 | Written in Vancouver 1944-45. The premiere was given by the Hallé at the Cheltenham Festival on 30 June 1948. It was repeated the next day. The work was also given by the same forces on Wednesday 26 January 1949 in Manchester. The performances were all conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, who also gave the piece again with the Hallé in Liverpool on 1 February 1949. On 1 August 1949 the BBC Northern Orchestra gave the work in Manchester. It was then given a further airing by the BBC SO conducted by the composer on 6 August 1954 at a Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. After one more performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in August 1954, conducted by the composer, the work was neglected until it was recorded by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Christopher Lyndon-Gee, and by Nicholas Braithwaite. In the Boosey and Hawkes' catalogue this symphony is listed as "Symphony No 1". The same entry appears in "British Orchestral Music" Volume One of the Catalogues produced by The Composers' Guild of Great Britain. In fact this is his only Symphony. In 1954 the performing materials were sent to Australia but I have not been able to trace any performances there apart from one conducted by Patrick Thomas with the Sydney SO. It may have gone into decline because of the meaningless label "Cheltenham Symphony". It may have been handicapped by Benjamin's reputation as a prolific composer of film music. Its neglect may be attributable to the rather empty label of "War Symphony". |
| 1945 | Suite for Flute and Strings | Arranged from keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. |
| 1945 | Red River Jig | 3 minutes; a memento, with the Square Dance Suite, of his time in Canada. |
| 1945 | From San Domingo | He also arranged it for 2 pianos, violin and piano, and viola and piano. The latter was recorded by William Primrose and Vladimir Sokoloff. |
| 1945 | Brumas Tunes, piano | |
| 1945 | Jamaican Rumba | Shortened piano solo arrangement |
| 1946 | Caribbean Dance, orchestra, subtitled A New Jamaican Rumba | Written as an orchestral work, Benjamin also made a version of it for two pianos for the Trimbles. It is in the style of a rumba and uses the Jamaican folk songs "Hold 'im Joe" and "Linstead Market". The latter also exists as a song for voice and piano, dating from 1948. |
| 1946 | This Modern Age, documentary series of interest shorts on world affairs | Benjamin wrote segment 14 "Jamaica Problem" |
| 1947 | Ballade for string orchestra | (not 1944, as in some references) Written in a single movement of many contrasting episodes. It was written for the Boyd Neel String Orchestra who premiered it with Boyd Neel conducting on 6 February 1948. |
| 1947 | An Ideal Husband, film score (aka Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband | From this, he extracted a "Waltz and Hyde Park Gallop". The US title "An Ideal Husband" mentions Oscar Wilde nowhere in the credits. |
| 1947 | The Cumberland Story, film score, | 37-minute short |
| 1947 | Master of Bankdam, film score | Based on Thomas Armstrong's novel The Crowthers of Bankdam; included the aria "The Fire of Your Love", sung in the film by Maria Var |
| 1948 | Jan, a Creole Melody, song | trad words |
| 1948 | Steps of the Ballet, film score | A sequel to the Britten/Sargent collaboration The Instruments of the Orchestra. Choreography by Andrée Howard. Robert Helpmann introduced and narrated the film. Members of Sadler's Wells Ballet with Gerd Larsen and Alexander Grant rehearse and then perform a ballet to Benjamin's music. This film includes Benjamin himself speaking briefly about the role of music in the ballet. |
| 1949 | Concerto quasi una Fantasia for piano and orchestra | Written to a commission from the Australian Broadcasting Commission, served as the solo vehicle for Benjamin’s Australian concert tour of 1950 and was premiered by him on 5 September with Eugene Goossens and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; a further 7 performances occurred throughout Australia; these were Benjamin’s last appearances as a pianist. Jacques Abram, the American pianist, gave it its first English performance at the Cheltenham Festival in 1952 and the first American performance in San Antonio in 1953. The London premiere was given by Lamar Crowson with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron at a Royal Albert Hall Prom Concert on 20 August 1956. The Concerto Quasi Una Fantasia together with the Piano Concertino were recorded by Lamar Crowson and the LSO conducted by Benjamin. The work is in a single continuous movement in four main sections of which the third is a scherzo and the final section a passacaglia concluding with a coda which harks back to earlier themes. |
| 1949 | A Tall Story, 2-part song | |
| 1949 | "Callers", unison song | words by Caryl Brahms |
| 1950 | A Tale of Two Cities, opera ("romantic melodrama in six scenes"); prologue and 3 acts | libretto by Cedric Cliffe, adapted from Dickens' novel; commissioned by the Arts Council in conjunction with the Festival of Britain; won first prize in the Festival's Opera Competition; first produced by Dennis Arundell during the Festival of Britain in 1951, it won a gold medal and was later broadcast in a live performance by BBC Radio 3 (the ‘Third Programme’) on 17 April 1953. After this performance, Benjamin revised the piece into its final version, which had its world stage premiere on 23 July 1957 at Sadler's Wells in London, with the New Opera Chorus and the RPO conducted by Leon Lovett, and with Heddle Nash and Heather Harper in the main roles. It was well received, with Benjamin receiving seven curtain calls. This version of the opera had its US premiere at the State College, San Francisco on 2 April 1960, just eight before Benjamin’s death on the 10th of that month. The work was revived in excerpts only as part of the BBC's "Fairest Isle" year celebration of British music in 1995. The work was broadcast twice: initially on 28 August 1995 and repeated later that year. The forces were a BBC Studio Company conducted by Anne Manson. The orchestra was the BBC Scottish Symphony. Lisa Milne (sop) took the role of Lucie and Young Comtesse. Justin Lavender (ten): Dr Manette. Paul Parfitt (bar): Lorry/Jacques 1 & 2/Corporal. Ian Storey (ten) Charles. Ann Hetherington (mezzo): Pross. Russell Smythe (bar) Sydney. Phyllis Cannan (sop) Mme Defarge. Colin Iveson (bass) Gabelle. Frances Morrison (sop) 1st woman. Stella Lichfield (mezzo) 2nd woman. Margaret Izatt (mezzo) 3rd woman. The chorus was the Scottish Opera Chorus. |
| 1951 | Orlando’s Silver Wedding, ballet | Written for the Festival of Britain (1951). There seems to be an alternative title: Orlando, The Marmalade Cat. This was performed at the Festival Pleasure Gardens in May 1951. The ballet was after Kathleen Hale's picture books with choreography by Andrée Howard. The design was by Motley. There was some disquiet about the explicit nature of one of the costumes and after four episodes the local entertainments management committee took the production off. It seems never to have been revived. |
| 1951 | North American Square Dance Suite, two pianos and orchestra | The work is a collection of "old-time fiddle tunes from Canada and the USA". Published in 1951, it was first performed by the Hallé in Manchester in November 1952 and in Pittsburgh on 1 April 1955. The movements are: 1. Introduction - Miller's Reel; 2. The Old Plunk; 3. The Bundle of Straw; 4. He piped so Sweet; 5. Fill the Bowl; 6. Pigeon on the Pier; 7. Calder Fair; 8. Salamanca - Coda. |
| 1952 | Divertimento on Themes by Gluck, oboe and string orchestra | In each of the five movements Benjamin took and freely moulded themes from Gluck's "Six sonatas for two violins and a thorough bass", published in London in 1746 during Gluck's visit. Each movement is attributable to a particular sonata: 1. Larghetto espressivo (Sonata No. 2 in G minor); 2. Presto giocoso (Sonata No. 1 in C major); 3. Andante pastorale (Sonata No. 4 in B flat major); 4. Menuetto vivo (Sonata No. 5 in E flat major); 5. Allegro risoluto (Sonata No. 2 in G minor). Sonata No. 1 in C major). In total the piece plays for 15 minutes. |
| 1953 | Harmonica Concerto | Written for Larry Adler; first performed at the Royal Albert Hall at a Prom concert on 15 August 1953 with the LSO conducted by Basil Cameron. Adler recorded it with the same forces two days later, and at least one other time. The Concerto was written with the encouragement of Ralph Vaughan Williams who had produced his own Romance for Harmonica, Strings and Piano for Adler in 1951, first performed in New York on 3 May 1952. It is interesting to note that the first movement of the Benjamin is also a Romance. After the Proms premiere of the VW work later that year Adler invited VW and Benjamin back to his house. There VW told Benjamin he should write a work for Adler. The Concerto was the result. Its movements are: Romanza- Allegro non troppo, Canzona Semplice - Andante poco lento, and Rondo Amabile - Allegretto. The orchestra is modest comprising double woodwind, two trumpets, xylophone, celesta and strings. It has also been recorded on LP by Tommy Reilly for Argo. |
| 1953 | Three fanfares: For a State Occasion; For a Brilliant Occasion and For a Gala Occasion | all written in the Coronation year, 1953. |
| 1953 | The Conquest of Everest, score for the documentary film | The film was nominated for 1954 Oscar for Best Documentary, Features, and won 1954 BAFTA for Best Documentary Film |
| 1953 | Melba, film score | Benjamin provided additional music |
| 1954 | Under the Caribbean, West German documentary film score (aka Unternehmen Xarifa) | Benjamin composed additional music |
| 1955 | Mañana, one-act television opera | The libretto is by Caryl Brahms. Commissioned in 1955 and produced by BBC television on 1 February 1956. It was the first television opera produced by the BBC. It was judged a flop at the time and never revived. |
| 1955 | Above Us the Waves, film score | |
| 1957 | Jamaicalypso, song | Based on a Jamaican folk song - also exists in a 2-piano version |
| 1957 | Fire Down Below, film score | Music prepared jointly with Douglas Gamley and Kenneth V. Jones |
| 1957 | The Naked Earth, film score | |
| 1958 | Le Tombeau de Ravel, Valses Caprices for clarinet and piano | Written for Gervase De Payer. His title was inspired by Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin. He also wrote a version for viola and piano – just as Brahms had done with his two clarinet sonatas. Grove V dates these 1949 |
| 1959 | String Quartet No. 2 | |
| 1960 | Divertimento for Wind Quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn) | This was originally announced for a premiere in Dublin in 1958 but the composer withdrew it before the concert. To temper the disappointment of the audience Benjamin allowed the Melos Ensemble to play a short fragment of the work. The whole work was performed in Cheltenham on 5 July 1960 by the Melos Ensemble. |
| 1960 | Tartuffe, opera | Librettist Cedric Cliffe based on Moliere. At Benjamin’s death the piece existed only in piano score with about 250 bars orchestrated. The rest of the orchestration was done by Alan Boustead. The only performance ever mounted would appear to be that by the New Opera Company at Sadler’s Wells on 30 November 1964, conducted by Boustead. A recording of this event was broadcast by the BBC on 7 December 1964. |
| ??? | Two Jamaican Street Songs | 1. Cookie and 2. Mattie Rag (Grove V reverses the order) |
| ??? | Five Negro Spirituals for violin or cello and piano | |
| ??? | Rhapsody in D for violin, cello and piano | |
| ??? | Piano Sonata | ???????????????? |
| ??? | Two Masefield Settings for baritone and orchestra | “Prayer” and “Captain <something>” |
| ??? | Four Impressions for mezzo, violin and string quartet | |
| ??? | A Suite of Songs on Eighteenth Century Poems for baritone and piano |
