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Benjamin Britten: A Life For Music Hardcover – 31 Jan. 2013
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Benjamin Britten was the greatest English composer of the twentieth century and one of the outstanding musicians of his age.
Born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in 1913, Britten was the youngest child of a dentist father and amateur musician mother. After studying at the Royal College of Music, he became a vital part of London’s creative and intellectual life during the 1930s, collaborating with W. H. Auden and meeting his lifelong partner, the tenor Peter Pears. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Britten and Pears were already in America, earning a precarious living as freelance musicians before re-crossing the Atlantic by ship in the perilous days of 1942.
But the east coast of England was where Britten, as he himself said, belonged: this was where he returned to write his most famous opera, Peter Grimes, and – with Pears and Eric Crozier – to found the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948. In the years that followed, his worldwide reputation grew steadily, helped by a busy schedule of international tours and, for many, crowned by the extraordinary success of his War Requiem. Meanwhile, his festival went from strength to strength, its progress symbolised by the opening of Snape Maltings Concert Hall in 1967.
Britten was a mass of paradoxes: a solitary, introspective thinker who came to ebullient life in the company of young people, for whom he composed some of his most memorable works; a man of the political left who was on the friendliest terms with members of the royal family; a composer inspired by some of the twentieth century’s deepest preoccupations who combined innovation with a profound understanding of musical tradition. Devoted to his friends, protégés and fellow musicians, he was, above all, someone who lived for music.
Neil Powell’s book is the landmark biography for Britten’s centenary year: a subtle and moving portrait of a brilliant, complex and ultimately loveable man.
- Print length528 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHutchinson
- Publication date31 Jan. 2013
- Dimensions16.2 x 4.5 x 24 cm
- ISBN-100091931231
- ISBN-13978-0091931230
Product description
Review
A sensible, well-written book by an author who is a literary scholar: this is the biography to choose if you are new to Britten and want an introduction to his life. ― Country Life
Powell carries the torch into the present, naming those singers now performing the work anew, painting a portrait of the Aldeburgh festival as it is today. His account has air and light, and brings alive the sense of landscape – the East Anglian coast, the marshes, the wind and waves – which have coloured so much of Britten's music. ― Observer
[A] fine biography... Powell has a more personal touch... takes a more literary approach, and is good at relating the vocal pieces to their sources. ― Daily Telegraph
Tightly focused... sympathetic. Powell lives in Suffolk and has a strong understanding of the composer’s cultural rootedness in that part of the world. ― Economist
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Hutchinson; First Edition (31 Jan. 2013)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 528 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0091931231
- ISBN-13 : 978-0091931230
- Dimensions : 16.2 x 4.5 x 24 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 1,770,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,635 in Classical Musician Biographies
- 22,393 in Theatre & Performance Artist Biographies
- 26,139 in Actors & Entertainers Biographies
- Customer reviews:
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I found that the way the abbreviations were organised made it hard to quickly find the source of quotes used in the text.
You may find my list of abbreviations (in alphabetical order) and a Harvard reference to the source of the quote helpful.
PT = We have a copy
AA1 {PT}
Blythe, R. (ed.) (1972) Aldeburgh Anthology. Aldeburgh & London: Snape Maltings Foundation Ltd. in association with Faber Music Ltd.
AA2 {PT}
Bankes, A & Reekie, J. (comps.) (2009) New Aldeburgh Anthology. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press.
BFBP {PT}
Ford, B. (1994) Benjamin Britten’s Poets: The Poetry He Set to Music. Manchester: Carcanet Press Ltd.
BOM {PT}
Kildea, P. (ed.) (2003) Britten on Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
CHPP {PT}
Headington, C. (1992) Peter Pears: A Biography. London: Faber & Faber.
DMB {PT}
Matthews, D. (2013) Britten. London: Haus Publishing Ltd.
EWBB {PT}
White, E., W. (1983) Benjamin Britten: His Life and Operas. 2nd ed. London: Faber & Faber.
HCBB {PT}
Carpenter, H. (1992) Benjamin Britten: A Biography. London: Faber & Faber.
IHLM {PT}
Grogan, C. (ed.) (2010) Imogen Holst: A Life in Music. Revised Edition. Aldeburgh Studies in Music 7. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press.
JB {PT}
Evans, J. (ed.) (2009) Journeying Boy: The Diaries of the Young Benjamin Britten 1928-1938. London: Faber & Faber.
JBBC {PT}
Bridcut, J. (2006) Britten’s Children. London: Faber & Faber.
JBPG {PT: page numbers may be different as different edition}
Bridcut, J. (2010) The Faber Pocket Guide to Britten. London: Faber.
(Reissued as: Bridcut, J. (2012) Essential Britten: A Pocket Guide for the Britten Centenary. London: Faber & Faber.)
LL1 {PT}
Mitchell, D. & Reed, P. (eds.) (1991) Letters From a Life: The Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten Volume One 1923 - 1939. London: Faber & Faber.
LL2 {PT}
Mitchell, D. & Reed, P. (eds.) (1991) Letters From a Life: The Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten Volume Two 1939 - 1945. London: Faber & Faber.
LL3 {PT}
Mitchell, D., Reed, P. & Cooke M. (eds.) (2004) Letters From a Life: The Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten Volume Three 1946 - 1951. London: Faber & Faber.
LL4 {PT}
Reed, P., Cooke M. & Mitchell, D. (eds.) (2008) Letters From a Life: The Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten Volume Four 1952 - 1957. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press.
LL5 {PT}
Reed, P. & Cooke M. (eds.) (2010) Letters From a Life: The Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten Volume Five 1958 - 1965. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press.
MBB {PT}
Britten, B. (2013) My Brother Benjamin. London: Faber & Faber.
MKBB {PT}
Kennedy, M. (1981) The Master Musicians Series: Britten. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
MOBB {PT}
Oliver, M. (1996) Benjamin Britten. London: Phaidon Press Ltd.
PEBB {PT}
Evans, P. (1979) The Music of Benjamin Britten. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
PFL {PT}
Mitchell, D. & Evans, J. (comps.) (1978) Benjamin Britten Pictures from a Life 1913-1976.
London: Faber & Faber.
PPTD {PT}
Reed, P. (ed.) (1995) The Travel Diaries of Peter Pears 1936 - 1978. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press.
TMPG
Banks, P. (ed.) (1996) The Making of Peter Grimes. Martlesham: Boydell & Brewer.
Powell's is a creditable, workmanlike effort. Factually it is sound but doesn't contribute anything which cannot be found in previous tomes on Britten. Powell draws heavily on the published letters and numerous other already well quoted sources.
What we have is a straightforwad telling of a story that has been already well told. Moreover, Powell does not really illuminate the music itself - his comments on the music are usually rather pedestrian.
However, what concerned me most is that there is not enough analysis and critical comment on Britten the man. Time and time again Powell appears over-reverential towards his subject. He is constantly defending Britten from his detractors. Well at this point in time, Britten really doesn't need defending - it is clear from previous biographies that whilst Britten was a brilliant musician, he was often an unpleasant individual and I don't think that this comes across strongly enough here.
Britten's unsavoury fascination with young boys isn't devoted sufficient space or analysis. This had such fundamental implications for all Britten's work. All credit to Humphrey Carpenter who in his 1992 biography focussed extensively on this (though in doing so, he was criticised by many). This was the slant that made the 1992 biography stand out from the pack. The problem is that Powell's lacks a critical focus. When the ground has been so well tread,this becomes vital.
Certainly, the Carpenter biography feels more scholarly and substantial and is the one which I would recommend at this point in time (I have yet to read the deluge of Britten books due in 2013).
I think this is one for the Britten novice (and as such, I should say it is a very decent introduction). But in the broader scheme of things, it doesn't really earn a place amongst the already extensive shelf of works on Britten.
