William Ingham Brooke Bennett (7 February 1936 – 11 May 2022) was a British flautist and teacher. He played in many English orchestras and chamber music ensembles, and as a soloist. He made more than 100 recordings, including chamber music with partners including George Malcolm, Osian Ellis, and Yehudi Menuhin. He premiered flute concertos written for him, by William Mathias, Diana Burrell and Raimundo Pineda. Bennett taught at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in Germany and the Royal Academy of Music, and held master classes worldwide.

Early life and studies

William Ingham Brooke Bennett was born in London to parents who were both architects. and has run the International Flute Summer School for 35 years.

William Bennett scale

In addition to making a balalaika and a guitar whilst still at school, Bennett's dissatisfaction with the intonation of his flute led him to start altering the position of the tone holes of his flute when he was 18 years old. He invented the tuning patch, and then built his own flute at age 20. He worked to improve the scale further, in collaboration with other British flautists and makers, which helped to improve the intonation of the modern flute. Many makers use the William Bennett scales,

  • My Favorite Encores (Southern Music)
  • Paul Taffanel: Mignon Fantasie (Southern Music)
  • J. S. Bach: Six Sonatas for Flute and Keyboard (Vol. 1 and 2, Chester)
  • Sir Arthur Sullivan: Twilight for 2 Flutes and Piano (Emerson Edition)
  • Paul A. Genin: Air Napolitain (Alry Publications)
  • Faure: Fantaisie for 2 Flutes and Piano (Alry Publications)
  • J. S. Bach: Sinfonia Cantata No. 209 (Pan Educational Music)
  • Chopin: Nocturne in D-flat, for 2 flutes and piano (Alry Publications)
  • C. Benson: Song for Wibb (Pan Educational Music)
  • W. A. Mozart: Adagio and Rondo (Pan Educational Music)
  • Paul Taffanel: Jean de Nivelle (Broekmans & Van Poppel B.V)
  • Paul Taffanel: Francesca di Rimini (Broekmans & Van Poppel B.V)<!--

Beep records

  • 27: Works for Flute and Piano – Taffanel: Operatic Fantasies – William Bennett, flute, & Clifford Benson, piano.
  • 28: Live at Wigmore Hall – Works for Flute and Piano – Bach, Mozart, Schubert. Mendelssohn, Ries. Reinecke – William Bennett, flute, Clifford Benson, piano
  • 29: Works for Flute and Orchestra by Nielsen, Reinecke, Dvořák, Sibelius and Elgar – William Bennett, flute, English Chamber Orchestra, Shuntaro Sato, conductor.
  • 30: Caprice Parisien – Works for Flute and Guitar – Ibert. Massenet. Debussy etc.- William Bennett, flute, Jonathan Leathwood, guitar.
  • 31: Works for Flute and Orchestra – Haydn. Hanson. Honneger. Griffes. Kennan. Foote – William Bennett, flute, English Chamber Orchestra, Shuntaro Sato & Nicholas Cleobury, conductors.
  • 32: Flute Quintets with Allegri String Quartet – Romberg, Jan Brandts Buys – William Bennett, flute, Allegri String Quartet.
  • 33: Four Concertos for a New Era – Burrell, Mathias, Musgrave & Pineda – William Bennett, flute, English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Raimundo Pineda & Richard Bernas.
  • 34: Mountains Toward the Sea – Works for Flute and Guitar – Beaser, Coste, Dodgson, Molino, Takemitsu – William Bennett, flute, Jonathan Leathwood, guitar.
  • 35: Works by Mozart for flute and orchestra, including Flute & Harp Concerto, Rondo, Andante in C and Concerto for Basset Flute – William Bennett, flute, Marisa Robles, harp, English Chamber Orchestra, directed by William Bennett.
  • 36: Bach Concertos for Flute and Two Flutes – works by Rameau, Gluck, Beethoven, Haydn – William Bennett, flute, Denis Bouriakov, flute, English Chamber Orchestra, directed by William Bennett.
  • 37: William Bennett's Melodies and Encores – Brahms, Chopin, Elgar, Mendelssohn, etc. – William Bennett, flute, Clifford Benson, piano.
  • 38: Great Works for Flute and Piano – Schubert, Frank, Hahn, Dohnanyi, Prokofiev – William Bennett, flute, and Clifford Benson, piano.
  • 39: Flute Concertos by C. P. E. Bach in D major and D minor and Telemann concertos for two flutes and strings -William Bennett, flute, and Unji Chung, flute & flute tierce, English Chamber Orchestra & London Octave, directed by William Bennett.
  • 40: Sibelius Concerto, Bach Chaconne, Kreisler, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns – Denis Bouriakov, flute, Robin Davis, piano.
  • 41: Mel Bonis Sonata, Brahms Waltzes – William Bennett, flute, John Lenahan, piano, Lorna McGhee, flute, Emma Halnan, alto flute and flute.
  • 42: Debussy Sonata – Lorna McGhee, flute, Piers Lane, piano.-->

References

Citations

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General and cited sources

Further reading

  • William Bennett (management) adams-music.com