Robert Saxton(1953)

The distinguished composer and academic Robert Saxton has a life-long interest in the viola having written a viola concerto (commissioned for the 1986 Cheltenham Festival, published by Chester Music / Wise Music Classical) and not least, as a child, having begun his compositional studies with Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), who himself played viola. An engaging story for young and old from Robert's childhood concerns his ambition to become a composer. Having asked his mother, and following her advice to write to Stravinsky or Britten, he indeed began lessons with Britten. The themes of Britten's advice were to try to learn the composer's trade as a craftsman and, as written in one of Britten's letters to Robert, that «Sounding right is all that matters».