Lennox Berkeley

Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley CBE was an influential English composer and teacher. Born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, Berkeley studied French at Merton College, Oxford, and music with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. His circle included notable composers such as Francis Poulenc and Benjamin Britten, with whom he shared a deep friendship and collaboration. Berkeley worked for the BBC during WWII, later married Elizabeth Freda Bernstein, and had three sons, including the composer Michael Berkeley. He was Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, where his students comprised notable figures such as John Tavener and Brian Ferneyhough. Knighted in 1974, Berkeley’s music blends neoclassicism and later serial techniques, contributing a distinct voice to 20th-century music. He died on 26 December 1989 in London.