What is Benjamin Dale?
'''Benjamin Dale''' (born [[London]] 17 July 1885; died London 30 July 1943) was a [[Britain|British]] [[composer]]. Dale won many prizes at the [[Royal Academy of Music]] for [[Composition (music)|composition]] when he was still very young. He wrote a '' [[Piano]] [[sonata]] in D minor'' which shows the [[influence]] of [[Romantic music|Romantic]] composers such as [[Liszt]] and [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]]. It was played by pianists such as [[York Bowen]] and [[Myra Hess|Dame Myra Hess]] who were becoming famous. He wrote music for [[viola]] for [[Lionel Tertis]] to play. He was in [[Germany]] when [[World War I]] broke out and was a prisoner in the camp at [[Ruhleben P.O.W. Camp|Ruhleben]]. There were other musicians there, including the [[Canada|Canadian]] [[Ernest MacMillan]] who later became a famous [[Conductor (music)|conductor]]. They organized a lot of musical events at the camp. Ernest MacMillan gave lectures about each of the nine [[symphony|symphonies]] by [[Beethoven]], after which he and Dale would play the whole symphony in a [[piano duet]] arrangement. After the war he worked as an [[Associated Board]] examiner. He became professor of [[harmony]] at the Royal Academy of Music. He continued to compose music. His [[ballade (music)|ballade]] for [[violin]] was especially popular. Dale’s music is not played much today, but there have been some attempts to make his music known again through [[Compact disc|CD]] recordings. {{bio-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, Benjamin}} [[Category:1885 births]] [[Category:1943 deaths]] [[Category:English composers]] [[Category:POW at Ruhleben]]