Richard Rodney Bennett
1936–2012 (age 76)
Composer
Biography
Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012) earned recognition for his ability to move gracefully between jazz, the concert hall, and the silver screen. A scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music, he composed operas, chamber works, and musicals while developing a jazz-inflected sensibility that informed celebrated film scores such as Murder on the Orient Express and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
His colleagues admired the elegance of his orchestration and the generous way he mentored younger composers; his recordings continue to inspire listeners worldwide. Bennett's legacy rests not only in the music he left behind but also in the warmth of his friendships, and he is remembered at Green-Wood Cemetery.