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About Stephen

stephenStephen Dodgson was born in London in 1924 and lived there with few interruptions all his life. He was educated at Stowe and served in the Royal Navy during World War II. He received his musical training at the Royal College of Music, and was subsequently for many years a member of its teaching staff in theory and composition. He started working at the College in the Junior Department where he also conducted the orchestra, for which he wrote several pieces. In 1950 he was in Italy with a travelling scholarship.

From 1957 he was often employed by the BBC; as provider of incidental music for many major drama productions, as well as a frequent and familiar broadcaster of reviews and other musical topics.

stephen_dodgson_composing
His compositions cover almost every genre, including opera (Margaret Catchpole, 1979), seven piano sonatas, nine string quartets and much other chamber music. There is also a substantial body of music for symphony orchestra & many concertos with chamber orchestra. His large output of vocal music ranges from a Magnificat & a Te Deum for chorus, soloists & orchestra through music for unaccompanied choir to songs for one or two singers with instrumental accompaniment. For many years Chairman of The National Youth Wind Orchestra he wrote music for this and other wind orchestras. For the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble he wrote and arranged music for various combinations of brass instruments. He is, however, probably best known worldwide for his numerous works for guitar. His interest in this instrument was prompted by Julian Bream.

Much of this music has now been recorded, including six orchestral Essays, all the String Quartets, a String Sextet, Quintets for Clarinet, Flute & Guitar, all the Piano Sonatas, Bagatelles & Piano Trios, other chamber & vocal music & most of the guitar music.

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Latest news

BBC Music Magazine logo
'Peasant Poet' solo songs – BBC Music Magazine review
Feb 01, 2023
'Peasant Poet' solo songs CD – British Music Society review
Dec 05, 2022
Dodgson Tournament for Twenty_Fingers recording
Tournament for Twenty Fingers – Colin's Column review
Oct 06, 2022
BBC Music Magazine logo
Tournament for Twenty Fingers – 5-star BBC Music Magazine review
Sep 08, 2022
Sungbin Cho playing
Sungbin Cho wins RAM prize with Dodgson Guitar Concerto No. 1
Jul 04, 2022

Upcoming events

Apr
3
Mon
2023
1:00 pm Tournament for twenty fingers – ... @ Wesley Chapel, Harrogate
Tournament for twenty fingers – ... @ Wesley Chapel, Harrogate
Apr 3 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Tournament for twenty fingers – Abbate & Perkins @ Wesley Chapel, Harrogate
In their ‘Duality’ programme featuring works for four hands at one piano, pianists Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins jointly perform Stephen Dodgson’s Tournament for twenty fingers, part 2 (the pair recently recorded the complete set) alongside works by Clementi, Schubert and Moszkowski at the Wesley Chapel in Harrogate.   Programme Sonata for four hands in E flat Major, op. 14 no. 3 – Clementi Allegro – Adagio – Rondo: Allegro Fantasia in F minor, D.940 –  Schubert From Five Spanish Dances op. 12 – Moszkowski Allegro brioso – Moderato – Bolero  Tournament for twenty fingers, part 2 – Dodgson Allegretto in F major –  Cradle Song –  A Bohemian[...]
Apr
23
Sun
2023
6:00 pm Tournament for twenty fingers – ... @ Suffolk Villages Festival
Tournament for twenty fingers – ... @ Suffolk Villages Festival
Apr 23 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Tournament for twenty fingers – Abbate & Perkins @ Suffolk Villages Festival
In their programme ‘Twenty Fingers on a Broadwood Piano’ featuring works for four hands at one piano, pianists Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins jointly perform Stephen Dodgson’s Tournament for twenty fingers, part 2 (the pair recently recorded the complete set) alongside works by Beethoven, Mozart, Weber, Field, Schubert and Dvořák for the Suffolk Villages Festival in Sudbury. Programme Sonata in D major, op. 6 (1797) – Beethoven Allegro molto – Rondo (Moderato) Sonata for piano four hands in C Major K. 521 – Mozart Allegro – Andante – Allegretto From Huit pieces, op. 60 – Weber Allegro – Alla Siciliana (Allegro) – Rondo (Scherzando vivace) INTERVAL Variations in A[...]
May
13
Sat
2023
7:30 pm Tournament for twenty fingers – ... @ Three Rivers Music Society
Tournament for twenty fingers – ... @ Three Rivers Music Society
May 13 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Tournament for twenty fingers – Abbate & Perkins @ Three Rivers Music Society
In their ‘Duality’ programme featuring works for four hands at one piano, pianists Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins jointly perform Stephen Dodgson’s Tournament for twenty fingers, part 2 (the pair recently recorded the complete set) alongside works by Mozart, Field, Schubert, Ravel and Beach for the Three Rivers Music Society in Rickmansworth. Programme Sonata for piano four hands in C Major K. 521 – Mozart Allegro – Andante – Allegretto Variations in A minor on a Russian Air – J. Field Fantasia in F minor, D.940 –  Schubert INTERVAL Ma mère l’Oye – Ravel Pavane de la Belle au Bois dormant – Petit Poucet – Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes –Les entretiens[...]
May
16
Tue
2023
11:30 am Sungbin Cho – solo and chamber g... @ Royal Academy of Music
Sungbin Cho – solo and chamber g... @ Royal Academy of Music
May 16 @ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Sungbin Cho – solo and chamber guitar works @ Royal Academy of Music
Exceptional young guitarist Sungbin Cho, winner of the London International Guitar Competition in 2021, performs his final recital at the Royal Academy of Music: a complete concert of Dodgson guitar works. Programme Partita no. 1 Fantasy-Divisions Guitar Quintet (with the Asaka Quartet) Guitar Concerto (with orchestra) Graduating with a BMus from the Korea National University of Arts, Sungbin Cho subsequently served in the Republic of Korea Air Force where he completed his two-year military service before entering the Royal Academy of Music to undertake an MA in Performance, with Michael Lewin. He is the first Korean national to play classical guitar[...]
Jul
17
Mon
2023
7:30 pm Mēla Guitar Quartet – Change-Rin... @ Luton Music Club
Mēla Guitar Quartet – Change-Rin... @ Luton Music Club
Jul 17 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Mēla Guitar Quartet – Change-Ringers @ Luton Music Club | England | United Kingdom
Join the Mēla Guitar Quartet in a wonderfully eclectic evening hosted by the Luton Music Club featuring Stephen Dodgson’s Change-Ringers alongside works by Philip Houghton and Laura Snowden and arrangements of Bach, Debussy, Ravel, Glinka, Milhaud, Bizet, Sain-Saëns, and Brubeck and Desmond. The quartet recently recorded Change-Ringers as part of a delightful collection of Dodgson guitar chamber works. Programme Camille Saint-Saëns – Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah arr. Bovey Claude Debussy – Deux Arabesques arr. Tarlton Andante con Moto; Allegretto Scherzando Phillip Houghton – Opals (1995) Black Opal; Water Opal; White Opal J.S. Bach – Organ fugue BWV 578 arr. Mēla Mikhail Glinka – Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture arr.[...]
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