Benedict Mason

British composer

Benedict Mason, born on 23 February 1954, is a British composer.

Mason was educated at King's College, Cambridge (1971–75) and took a degree in film-making at the Royal College of Art (1975–78). He did not turn to composition until his early 30s, but his first acknowledged work, Hinterstoisser Traverse (1986), attracted attention from the European new music scene.^[1] His early works are decidedly postmodern in inclination, with considerable use of stylistic irony (some commentators^{[weasel words]} have noted in these works a similarity to the music of Mauricio Kagel). Mason then developed an interest in polyrhythmic music, and in works such as his Double Concerto one can hear a strong stylistic affinity to the later works of György Ligeti.^[1] More recent works have concentrated on the spatial dimension of music, such as in his Music for European Concert Halls series, and sometimes have come very close to installation art.

Mason has composed in many genres, and his soccer opera Playing Away, with a libretto by Howard Brenton, was commissioned by the Munich Biennale and premièred there in 1994 by Opera North.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Toop 2001.
^ Anon. 1994.

Sources

Anon. (1994). “Playing Away”. 4. Münchener Biennale, 29. April – 22. Mai 1994. Münchener Biennale website (archive from 17 January 2014, accessed 20 August 2018).
Toop, Richard (2001). "Mason, Benedict". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.