Benjamin studied composition in Sydney, Australia, with Dr. Heva Chan.
Before moving to the United States, Benjamin held the post of music lecturer at Australia's premier Christian College for the performing arts, Wesley Institute. He is currently on the faculty at the New York Conservatory of Music and at LREI in Greenwich Village. Benjamin also teaches privately around NYC and New Jersey.
Melancolie
témoin délaissé
(For Solo Guitar)
A Curious Fantasy
(For Solo Harp)
Cinnamon Suite
1. Prelude
2. Song
3. Dance
Benjamin is an engagingly thought-provoking and patient teacher. He has over eight years of teaching experience as a private tutor and has taught students of all ages and abilities.
Before moving to the United States, Benjamin held the post of music lecturer at Australia's premier Christian College for the performing arts, Wesley Institute. He is currently on the faculty at the New York Conservatory of Music, is on the faculty of the instrumental program at an elite private school in Greenwich Village, and teaches privately around NYC and New Jersey.
Born: 1941
Phenomenal classical guitarist, praised for his almost flawless technique and intense discipline. A somewhat conservative musician, his performances are reliably of the highest standard.
Born: 1933
Possessing an incredible talent for balancing two extremes, Bream was a fundamental figure in the revival of the lute, and has also commissioned and/or premiered some of the most important works in the modern guitar repertoire, including the Britten 'Nocturnal' and the Walton 'Bagatelles'.
Born: 1927
A consumate musician, Yepes was famed for his advocacy of the 10 string guitar, his own invention. Yepes was the original arranger (and some would argue composer) of the very popular song "Jeux Interdits" - commonly referred to as "Romance".
Born: 1944
One of the most accomplished guitarists to date, Pepe was born into what is perhaps legitimately referred to as "the royal family of the guitar". More remarkable is that his ability stands as tall as his career.
When I began, the guitar was enclosed in a vicious circle. There were no composers writing for the guitar, because there were no virtuoso guitarists.
-- Andres Segovia
Segovia spent his life as a touring musician, relentlessly performing in concert and building the guitar repertoire through the commissioning of new works. He is credited for altering the public perception of the guitar, and garnering universal respect for the guitar as a serious concert instrument.
Born: 1893
You know what I think? If I am tired now, I don't mind, because I have eternity to rest.
Born: 1952
Uruguayan virtuosic guitarist notable for his extensive 19th Century recorded repertoire, and for his work in promoting classical guitar in his homeland. Fernandez is also an active composer, arranger and educator.
Born: 1972
Australian guitarist known for her involvement in the ARIA award winning guitar quartet "Saffire", and for her forward-looking approach to combining classical guitar performance with staged theatre and visual artistic performance.
Born: 1953
Grammy-award winning classical guitarist, winner in the category of 'best instrumental soloist in classical music' for his album "Aire Latino". David resides in Galicia, Spain, spending much of his time travelling to perform concerts and to give master-classes around the world.
Born: 1947
Perhaps the most prominent disciple of Segovia, Parkening is still a very active performer and educator. Notable is his unabashed commitment to the Christian faith, which is at the heart of his dedication to performance, recording, and teaching.
Born: 1955
Though not a "classical" guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel is arguably the greatest contemporary fingerstyle guitarist out there. He was an avid disciple of Chet Atkins, and can seemingly play any musical genre with ease.
1809 - 1847
A prodigy from a very young age, Mendelssohn was a devoted lutheran and a consumate artist. Mendelssohn was a champion of the music of J.S. Bach and has been credited for the revival of interest in Bach's music.
Formal Education:
University of Berlin
Notable Works:
Hebride's (Fingal's Cave) Overture in Bm
Violin Concerto in Em (Op. 64)
1901 - 1999
Blind from the age of three, Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre notated his compositions by braille. Rodrigo was a Spanish composer renowned for his works for guitar. Rodrigo was adept on the piano and violin, but surprisingly was not a guitarist.
École Normale de Musique
Concerto de Aranjuez
Fantasia para un gentilhombre
1685 - 1750
Church Organist and father of 13 children, many of whom also became prominent musicians. Renowned in his lifetime as a great organist, his genious as a composer was not recognized until many years after his death.
St. Michael's School in Lüneburg
The Well-Tempered Clavier
Cantata #140
St. Matthew Passion
Organ Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Born: 1932
Premiere American film composer, noted for his sweeping orchestral scores and his lasting creative partnership with Director Steven Speilberg. Nominated for 45 Academy Awards (Oscars) and winner of 21 Grammy Awards.
UCLA
Julliard
Schindler's List (film score)
Star Wars (film scores)
Born: 1963
Dario Marianelli is an Italian born composer of piano, orchestral and film music. He was the recipient of an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his work on the Atonement film score.
National Film and Television School (NFTS) in England
Atonement (film score)
Born: 1929
Australia's preeminant composer. Peter Sculthorpe is noted for drawing inspiration from Australia's indiginous cultures and landscapes.
Oxford Univeristy
Kakadu
String Quartet #11
Born: 1862 - 1918
Achille-Claude Debussy was a French composer notable for his use of the whole-tone scale. He was also a brilliant pianist.
Paris Conservatoire
Clair de Lune
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
1875 - 1937
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer of impressionistic music and was a masterful orchestrator. His prowess in orchestration is most evident in his composition "Bolero", and in his orchestration of Mussorgsky's work for piano "Pictures at an Exhibition".
Conservatoire de Paris
Boléro
Daphnis et Chloé
1840 - 1893
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is best known as the composer of some of the world's most popular ballets.
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
Swan Lake
1812 Overture
1891 - 1953
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a prolific composer of 'modern' music, at times forced to adhere to soviet policies which dictated in part his compositional sources.
Romeo and Juliet
Peter and the Wolf
1844 - 1908
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a master of orchestration, and the author of the remarkable textbook "Principles of Orchestration".
School for Mathematical and Navigational Sciences (in Saint Petersburg)
Scheherazade
Flight of the Bumble Bee
Suggested Practice Routine
Warm-up:
* Focus on technique.
* Slow and careful scales, chords or song excerpts to warm up the muscles in your fingers and to get comfortable with your seated posture (shoulders, arms, neck and back should all be relaxed).
Study:
* Even if memorized, refer at least once to the notated music to gain insight into the music being learned and to avoid memorizing the wrong notes.
* Discern the difficult passages and specifically work through them thoughtfully.
* Even if intending to read the score in performance, try to memorize the piece because different aspects of performance become apparent through memorization.
Revision:
* Play through something previously learned, for encouragement and reassurance after having just tackled a less familiar piece that has new technical hurdles.
* Memory and technique fades when not called upon, so it's good to refresh your repertoire - whether it's memorized or not.
It is important to note that "practice", "playing" and "performance" each require very different mindsets and acheive very different results.
Good practice involves thoughtfulness and patience.
Playing should be fulfilling and fun, but should never be considered practice.
Performance impacts a musician mentally and physically, and is better prepared for through thoughtful practice than extensive playing.
Your left hand may be fun to watch, dancing about the fretboard as it does, but it is your right hand that creates the sounds that you hear!
Concentrating on your right hand technique and the variety of tones that can be created becomes extremely rewarding in performance.
In learning to play the guitar, your fingers do not act independently - it is the brain which tells your fingers what to do. Be sure to understand the music you are trying to play before setting your fingers upon the strings and you will save a lot of time and frustration.
Music is fun.
If you don't currently enjoy learning music, try a different approach to your studies or your practice.
Take a break.
If your concentration is beginning to wane, take a break and come back refreshed in 10 or 15 minutes.
If your body is beginning to tire, become stiff, or ache, take a break and stretch it out.
Listen to your body.
If you are ever in any measure of physical pain while practicing, you may have to consider adjusting your posture or technique.
Slight discomfort could turn into career destroying health problems if the cause is not addressed.
There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.
-- Johann Sebastian Bach
It's kind of 19th century tradition that practice should be hard work, leftover from the Victorian thing. I think this is a totally destructive idea. The essence of the thing is that the work should be enjoyable.... When people are learning instruments, they should be encouraged and advised: if they say they don't enjoy their practice, I always say, well, FIND a way to enjoy it.
-- John Williams (guitarist)
The heart of the melody can never be put down on paper.
-- Pablo Casals
If I dont practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.
- Jascha Heifetz
Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, save perhaps two.
-- Fredric Chopin
When one puts up a building one makes an elaborate scaffold to get everything into its proper place. But when one takes the scaffold down, the building must stand by itself with no trace of the means by which it was erected. That is how a musician should work.
The guitar is a small orchestra. It is polyphonic. Every string is a different color, a different voice.
1850 - 1950
Tarrega:
*
Barrios:
Villa-Lobos:
* Etude No. 1 (in Em)
Rodrigo:
* Concierto de Aranjuez
* En Los Trigales
Granados:
* Danza española, Op. 37 No. 5 'Andaluza'
* Valses Poeticos
Albeniz:
Lauro:
* Valses Venezolanos:
1. Tatiana
2. Andreína
3. Natalia (Vals criollo)
4. Yacambú
Ponce:
* Variations and Fugue on 'La Folia'
Post 1950
Brower:
* Two Popular Cuban Themes: Cancion de Cuna & Ojos Brujos
* Hika: In Memoriam Toru Takemitsu
Myers:
* Cavatina (Theme from "The Deer Hunter")
Walton:
* Five Bagatelles
Britten:
* Nocturnal after John Dowland, for guitar, Op. 70
Domeniconi:
* Koyunbaba
Koshkin:
* Usher Waltz
Pre 1750
Bach:
Dowland:
Mudarra:
Vivaldi:
D. Scarlatti:
Sanz:
1750 - 1850
Sor:
Giuliani:
Boccherini:
* G 448: Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D major ("Fandango")
Aguado:
Recuerdos de la Alhambra = Memories of the Alhambra
Composed 1896 by Francisco Tarrega
The Alhambra (literally "the red one"), the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra ( "the red fortress"), is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, occupying the top of the hill of the Assabica on the southeastern border of the city of Granada, now in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.
Recuerdos de la Alhambra
The title page of the orginal published copy of this work, as shown below, reads "as performed by the author, at the Nobilities Concerts." This implies that Sor performed this music himself at private parties and gatherings..
This theme is taken from a melody in Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute", heard near the end of Act I called “Das klinget so herrlich” (Sor's translation of which was "O Cara Armonia"). The context of this music within "The Magic Flute" finds a group of slaves being entranced by music, spellbound and singing:
It sounds so happy,
Sounds so gay!
Larala la la larala!
Let’s sing and dance our time away!
Das klinget so herrlich,
Das klinget so schön!
Nie hab’ ich so etwas gehört und gesehn!
Introduction and Variations
on a Theme by Mozart
The theme as heard in Sor's variations is actually the theme as adapted to fit the English lyrics "Away with melancholy, Nor doleful changes ring" (aka "O dolce concento")
The original cover of Sor's Variations on a Theme of Mozart Op. 9, published in Paris in 1821
The Harmonious Blacksmith
"The Harmonious Blacksmith" is a nickname given to the final movement (Air and Variations) of George Frideric Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major, HWV 430, for harpsichord.
Although stories abound as to the origin of the title, biographers generally seem to agree that the tune was given it's nickname "The Harmonious Blacksmith" not by the composer himself, but by a music publisher in Bath (England), whose father was a blacksmith.
Perhaps the title was inspired in part by the gentleman to whom this marker commemorates (see picture on left), or perhaps the ancient story about Pythagorus played an influential role in the naming of this music.
As the story goes, Pythogorus was walking past a forge and became distracted by harmonies arising from the banging of hammers inside. The led Pythagorus to do some snooping, and he discovered that there was a mathematical relationship between the sizes of the hammers being used, which resulting in either pleasant sounding harmonious, or jarring discords.
Trois Rondos Brillants
Opus No. 2 of Spanish guitarist/composer Dionisio Aguado (1784 - 1849), who dedicated the piece to F. De Fossa. Each of the three pongs in this collection consist of a slow introduction and a fast rondo.
1. Adagio
Polonaise
2. Andante
Rondo - Allegro moderato
3. Andante
Rondo - Allegro
Aguado is perhaps best remembered for his advocacy of plucking the strings using fingernails, which would require a guitarist to grow the nails on one hand, while maintaining shorter nails on the other. A mutual admiration existed between Aguado and Fernando Sor, who discouraged the use of fingernails to pluck strings, instead preferring the darker sound which the flesh produces.
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for solo violin, this work became extremely popular amongst guitarists when Andrés Segovia arranged the music for solo guitar. Segovia's recording of this work was one of the earliest examples of non-lute music of J.S.Bach being played on the guitar. The Bach "Chaconne" is now commonly viewed by guitarists as a measuring stick for virtuosity. The Chaconne, originally a dance, is a musical framework used for variation on a short phrase.
Chaconne
Click image to enlarge
Image: Bach's original manuscipt
Capricho Arabe
image: Original manuscript by Tárrega
Composed in 1914 and 1938 by Pio Agustín Barrios
"La Catedral" was inspired by the Cathedral of San José in Montevideo (now called Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral) located on the Plaza Constitución (also known as Matriz Square).
The piece originally had two movements, with the opening movement, Prelude (Saudade), being added in 1938. as a nostalgic recollection (Saudade = Portugese word for "homesickness")..
The original opening movement, Andante Religieso, is an homage to the organ music by Bach that Barrios heard being played when he entered the cathedral. The final movement, Allegro Solemne, depicts the noise and buslte encountered in returning to the plaza outside the cathedral.
La Catedral
1. Prelude (Saudade)
2. Andante Religioso
3. Allegro Solemne
images: Montevideo Cathedral
Asturias
Image: The Coat of Arms for the Principality of Asturias
BWV 996
Lute Suite in Em
BWV 998
Prelude, Fugue and Allegro
Lachrimae
Fantasia X
Concerto for in D major for
Lute and Orchestra (RV 93)
Sonata K. 213 (L. 108)
"The Lover"
Canarios
Benjamin graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Classical Guitar Performance) from Sydney, Australia, where he studied guitar with Philip Moran.
His performance experience includes classical recitals, government dinner functions, luxury hotel performance residencies, and musical theatre orchestra pits.
Excerpts
Back
Excerpt
Length: Approx. 6 minutes
Mélancolie (témoin délaissé) : Melancholy (helpless witness)
A loved one suffering with alzheimer's - forced to watch their slow and subtle degeneration. Clinging desperately to the memory of the person they once were.
The Garden Gnome
Instrumentation:
Piccolo
Percussion
Guitar
Piano
Length: Approx. 1'08
"The Garden Gnome" was conceived as part of a soundtrack for a short animated film about a garden gnome.
