Escape Velocity

Over thirty works have been commissioned to date. A 2005 commission from Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra was the genesis of the symphonic movement entitled Speed which displays the juxtaposing of extremes in Benjamin Wallfisch's language great energy contrasted with slow-moving, long-breathed and yearning melody. His first String Quartet was composed for the Belcea in 2001, followed by a second for the Coull. His works outside the concert hall include a major ballet score entitled 21, commissioned by the Rambert Dance Company and premiered at London's Sadler's Wells, and a feature film score for Thomas Vinterberg's and Lars von Trier's Dear Wendy, nominated as "Discovery of the Year" in the 2005 World Soundtrack Awards. From his Opus 1, the luminous and glistening Sudden Light (commissioned by the Manchester Camerata), to his latest works including the stratospheric Escape Velocity, a piece which received its premiere at the 2006 BBC Proms, there is a consistent, compelling integrity and a palpable, powerful personality.

He begins a new work by building a strong idea of its overall structure into which he feeds ideas and 'elements which all share the same DNA', and where everything, from the overall rhythmic impetus to the tiniest melodic cell, justifies its existence through its place in a complex network of interconnections. Characteristically, he places emotion at the core of the music, along with a clarity of message that must be communicable, and he taps into a rich and instinctive vein of melody which is both attractive and challenging. Ben's music is, by design, vivid and disciplined, passionate and intense.

He has also built an important parallel career as a conductor and believes that conducting, just like composition, is creative, working to achieve a clearly defined vision that must be communicated with respect and conviction.