Sir William Sterndale Bennett
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Sir William Sterndale Bennett’
In The Copybook
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Sir William Sterndale Bennett’
In The Copybook
Joseph Joachim was regarded by most people in Europe as the greatest violinist ever, but in the home of Sterndale Bennett there was a dissenting voice.
Pianist, composer and teacher Sir William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875) enjoyed the friendship and respect of many illustrious figures in the world of music, including Felix Mendelssohn, Jenny Lind, Robert and Clara Schumann. Bennett appeared alongside supreme violinist Joseph Joachim on many occasions, but not everyone in the Bennett household shared Sterndale’s admiration for the great man.
In 1837 William Sterndale Bennett, then regarded as England’s most exciting young composer, made history in quite another... field.
German club cricket began in 1858, courtesy of British and American expatriates living in Berlin. But there is a much earlier game on record, played in Leipzig on June 10th, 1837. One of the participants was William Sterndale Bennett, a young and promising composer, and inevitably perhaps, a Yorkshireman.
Acclaimed in Germany as a composer on a par with Mendelssohn himself, Bennett sacrificed his life and talents for music in Britain.
The young William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875) was expected by many, including Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, to take his place as one of Europe’s most accomplished composers. Today he is almost unknown, a consequence of the sacrifices he made for the careers and talents of others.