' He is one of the few living composers to write with understanding for the guitar, harpsichord and clavichord.'  The New Grove

Stephen Dodgson's style, whilst not recognised as avant-garde, is very distinctive, often highly dissonant, and is characterised by an idiosyncratic approach to rhythmic accent. Dodgson taught for many years at the Royal College of Music, and became a frequent and familiar broadcaster for the BBC as a reviewer and as a commentator on a wide variety of musical topics.   He also composed music for many BBC radio drama productions.

His output covers most genres including opera (Margaret Catchpole), seven piano sonatas, seven string quartets (and much other chamber music), and a substantial amount of music for orchestra, chorus and solo voices. However, his works for both the guitar and the harpsichord, championed by such players as John Williams and Maggie Cole, have brought him wide international acclaim and are recognised as outstanding contributions to limited repertoires. In fact, he has the longest and most productive association with the harpsichord of any living composer, having produced over fifty works, both solo and ensemble.

Due for release in 2006 are a recording of his Chamber Works with Guitar - all premiere recordings - on Cadenza, and a newly edited publication of his five sets of Inventions for solo harpsichord.

Gary Carpenter | Graham Fitkin | Kevin Malone | Arthur Rathbone Pullen | Ailís Ní Riaín | Mark Wingfield