A student of Hummel and amanuensis of Weber, Julius Benedict followed his fellow countryman Handel's path from Germany to England via Italy. As with Handel, the Italian influence remained dominant in Benedict's writing even after he began composing quintessentially "British" music in such operas as The Lily of Killarney and in choral cantatas (among them The Legend of St. Cecelia). Also an extremely gifted pianist, Benedict penned several fine concertos—which, oddly enough, tend to overshadow his works for solo piano.
