  Go to LAN283 - Clifford Benson Piano Works
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Gramophone, July 2008
'Clifford Benson, one of the finest accompanists and chamber musicians of his generation, died last August aged 61. He was to have made this recording of his piano works himself to celebrate his 60th birthday. In the event, the effects of an inoperable brain tumour, diagnosed in December 2006, made it impossible for him to play, and the project turned into a race against time. His friend and colleague Michael Dussek, who has made so many fine recordings of English piano music for Dutton, stood in...
...Any one of the short Six Pieces would furnish an attractive and unpretentious encore, as would the Three Pieces. The 18 Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star take us through various composers from Bach and Rossini to Brahms and Prokofiev (either quoting wittily or adopting their style). Warmly recorded (Potton Hall) and played with affection and consummate artistry by Dussek, the programme reflects the personality of an engaging and much-missed musician.'
Jeremy Nicholas Classic FM Magazine, July 2008
'Clifford Benson was one of the most naturally gifted pianists Britain has ever produced. A Radio 3 favourite for many years, he was amazingly proliferate, yet his playing retained its magical tonal allure and unfailing musical intuitiveness right up to the point he was diagnosed with brain cancer in December 2006. He was already booked to make this recording of his own piano music the following spring, but Michael Dussek kindly stepped into the breach and with Clifford's help produced this enchanting recital of indelible miniatures, including a riotous set of pastiche variations on 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. Perfect late-evening listening, captured in exemplary sound by Jeremy Hayes and Tony Faulkner.'
Julian Haylock Classical Source, June 2008
'This is both a moving and an inspiring release. (Musically likeable, too.) Moving because Clifford Benson (1946-2007) died relatively young (from an inoperable brain tumour) – and thus we lost a versatile pianist – and inspiring because he was able to live long enough to be at the sessions when Michael Dussek made this recording of his music. It should have been the composer himself at the piano; but his health declined significantly – enough for him to cancel engagements and invite Dussek to take over the recording (with not long to go until the date). Dilys Benson goes into further detail in her booklet note.
Like many other music-lovers and record-collectors, I was very familiar with Clifford Benson’s name and his playing. That he was a composer, too, was a rather more ‘hidden’ talent. His music is entertaining and enjoyable, blessed with tunes and ingenious harmony; the listener can appreciate Benson’s craft and take pleasure from his musical wit and insouciance – it is never trite and will suit many moods and times of day.
Michael Dussek, who was “the recipient of Clifford’s demanding yet encouraging tuition”, makes light of the “often tricky” writing and plays with affection. 40 tracks, to cue each work (and each Variation), for a disc totalling 48 minutes’ playing-time gives an indication of the brevity of the pieces. But they are just right in proportion and enjoy Benson’s creative imagination, which includes allusions to other music and a gift for subtle pastiche. In short, this is a pleasing collection.
For Mozart Goes to Town (piano/four hands) Dussek is joined by John Reid – the town appears to be close to Mexico, the 6-minute piece quoting several of Mozart’s ‘hits’ (as well as “Puppet on a String”!) – such introductions are humorous and skilful. The longest work – Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star – is a compendium of other composers’ styles.
Clifford Benson was able to attend the sessions and there was amongst friends (including producer Jeremy Hayes and engineer Tony Faulkner). Let Mr Benson have the last word: “I think it’s a bloody good CD!”.'
Colin Anderson International Record Review, May 2008
'Here is the personal, unassuming and unaffected voice of a consummate accompanist and chamber musician, a brilliant teacher and adjudicator, whose
warmth and humanity touched all he met. How tragic it is that Clifford
Benson died so suddenly of cancer
in August of last year at the age of just 60. His contribution to music-making in the UK has been vast: few concert-goers in London will not have heard him live, and his discography is immense, including many fine recordings with Thea
King (on Hyperion), Lydia Mordkovitch (on Chandos), Shlomo Mintz (on DG), the Nash Ensemble (on CRD), with flautists William Bennett and Trevor Wye (on a variety of labels), as well as with many of Britain's pre-eminent
singers.
Although his illness was to prevent him from recording these works himself,
he entrusted them to his friend and colleague Michael Dussek, and Benson was at least able to supervise the sessions. As he himself remarked, "I think
it's a bloody good CD!"
In this series of brief miniatures and vignettes, the character of Benson is ever-present: the music and the music-making are utterly natural and unforced, paying homage to a whole variety of masters while also revealing a clearly defined style that is both refreshing and invigorating.
Roughly half of the programme here is based on other works in some way. The piano duet Mozart Goes To Town, dedicated to George Malcolm, follows along the lines of Alec Templeton's Bach Goes To Town and is an entertaining and
exhilarating voyage through some 12 of Mozart's best-known themes,
in a whole range of styles from classical to jazz: this certainly deserves to join the duet repertoire. In the 18 Variations on 'Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star' Benson again draws on wide-ranging idioms, with variations that are pastiches on composers from Bach to Scott Joplin, via the likes of Chopin, Brahms, Elgar and Prokofiev. To my mind the most successful and
the most original are the Variations on 'Frère Jacques', just over four minutes in length, in which Benson's own voice comes to the fore, a rich and tonal language, melodic at all times, and one that is highly eclectic without ever being derivative.
In the Six Pieces (composed between 1956 and 2006) and the Three Pieces
(published in 1983) one hears fleeting echoes of a whole variety of
composers from the turn of the
last century, from the Debussy of the Suite bergamasque to Frank Bridge and York Bowen, as well as the jazz influence of the likes of Milhaud and perhaps even Billy Mayerl, but all subsumed into a language that is very fresh and approachable. It is interesting and indicative that Benson's own
favourite of these works, the 'Little March', is the most light-hearted and whimsical, while the most harmonically adventurous one, the very chromatic 'Spanish Dance' (both from Three Pieces), was written expressly to impress
his composition tutor, Herbert Howells.
There is much to savour on this disc, with performances from Dussek that
display the utmost subtlety and technical finesse. One must just hope that works of this quality do not fall into neglect: most are ideal for the concert platform but some should also make their way onto the exam syllabuses, where they would give huge pleasure to countless aspiring pianists. This disc provides a very fitting memorial, and one which is
likely to enrich the lives of all who hear it. '
Nicholas Salwey
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