Links
Academic

Recent Publications:

'Music as Mirror: Reflections of Biography and Identity in the Music of Louis Lewandowski', in Jewishness, Jewish Identity and Music Culture in 19th-Century Europe (Ad Parnassum Studies 2020)

Music and Letters Book Review, Composing Capital, Classical Music in the Neoliberal Era (2020)

'The British Symphony Orchestra and the Arts Council of Great Britain, Examining the Orchestra in its Economic and Institutional Environments', book chapter in Oxford University Press volume Global Perspectives on Orchestras (2017).

The December 2013 issue of 'The Musical Times' includes Benjamin's article,'The SPNM 1943 - 1975: a retrospective'. Details can be found here.

Recent conference papers have explored the Musicians' Union (Glasgow 2016), nineteenth-century Jewish choral music (Leeds 2015), the life of Louis Lewandowski (Rome 2015), the career of Alick Maclean (NABMSA 2014), Ewan MacColl's 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' (Popmac 2013), the place of new opera at the Royal Opera House in the post-war period (NABMSA 2012), and  British attitudes to censorship after the Second World War (RMA/King's College London, 2012).

Benjamin Wolf's PhD thesis is available for download from the British Library's Ethos system. You can find it here. If you have any problems please use the contact form on this website.

Next Appearance

Performances are currently on hold due to Covid-19. Watch this space for future plans, which should include interfaith performances in Cambridge and London, the next European Jewish Choral Festival in Sofia, and the next Montefiore heritage concert.

 

Music Downloads

You can download recordings from Itunes, Amazon and other sources. Here are some of Benjamin's recordings:

Bendigamos (bOYbershop)

 

Zemel Goes Stateside

Todah V'Zimrah (Belsize Square)

Composition

The Etz Chayim Cello Concerto was written for the 70th anniversary of Belsize Square Synagogue. It was described as an 'individual sound world of colour and incisive brilliance' (Jewish Renaissance Magazine April 2009). You can download the concerto using the link on this page. Recorded live with the Wallace Ensemble and cellist Gemma Rosefield.

Benjamin Wolf has written articles for newspapers and journals. He has also given conference papers as part of his academic research. You can find details below.

Articles/Chapters:

 

  • 'Tracing German-Jewish Identities in the Music of Louis Lewandowski', forthcoming chapter in Jewishness, Jewish Identity and Music Culture in 19th-Century Europe (Ad Parnassum Studies)
  • Music and Letters Book Review, Composing Capital, Classical Music in the Neoliberal Era (2020)
  • ‘The SPNM 1943 - 1975: A Retrospective’, The Musical Times, December 2013
  • ‘The British Symphony Orchestra and the Arts Council of Great Britain, Examining the Orchestra in its Economic and Institutional Environments’, book chapter forthcoming in Oxford University Press compilation (Orchestras: Essays on Collective Creativity and Social Agency)

Papers:

 

  • The Musicians’ Union and the Arts Council in a Time of Militancy (Glasgow 2016)
  • The Anglo-German Choral Tradition and the Consequences of Emancipation (Magnified and Sanctified Conference, Leeds 2015) 
  • Professional Capital, The BBC and ‘Poor Old English Opera’ – Examining the Life of Alick Maclean (North American British Music Studies Association, 2014)
  •  Ewan MacColl, Authenticity and ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ (International Conference on Analyzing Popular Music, July 2013)
  • British Cultural Policy and the Reaction to Totalitarianism (RMA/King’s College, London, 2012)
  • Tippet’s ‘King Priam’, the Royal Opera House and the Concept of Prestige Opera (North American British Music Studies Association, 2012)
  • Just too bourgeois? Light music, Academia and the BBC (RMA Conference 2010)
  • The Symphony Orchestra and Musical Vitality (IMR Conference 2010) 
  • Chasing Your Tail (Opera, Ballet and the Arts Council) (RMA Research Students’ Conference, 2009)
  • The Arts Council and Modernist Music (RMA Study Day, April 2008)

Journalism:

  • Article for The Spectator culture blog, May 2014 (‘Expecting Opera Critics to be Uniformly Kind to Singers Defeats the Point of their Existence’)
  • 'Few Call for New Tunes'. The Financial Times, Weekend Section. September 27th 2003. Download article here
  • 'Not Just Midsummer Madness'. The Financial Times, Weekend Section. July 1st 2006. Download article here

Reviews:

  • Purcell Room, March 12th 2003. The Pianola Journal. Download here.