Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was a British composer, conductor, and pianist. Britten could refer to: Benjamin Britten, a British composer, conductor, and pianist John Britten, a New Zealand mechanical engineer Britain (a disambiguation page) Briton Category: ... The Order of Merit is a British and Commonwealth Order bestowed by the Monarch. ... The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A conductor conducting at a ceremony A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ...

Life

Britten was born in Lowestoft in Suffolk, the son of a dentist and a talented amateur musician. His birthday, 22 November, is the feast-day of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music, and he showed musical gifts very early in life. He began composing prolifically as a child, and was educated at Old Buckenham Hall School in Suffolk, a small all-boys prep school, and Gresham's School, Holt. In 1927, he began private lessons with Frank Bridge. He also studied, less happily, at the Royal College of Music under John Ireland and with some input from Ralph Vaughan Williams. Although ultimately held back by his parents (at the suggestion of College staff), Britten had also intended to study with Alban Berg in Vienna. His first compositions to attract wide attention were the Sinfonietta (Op.1), "A Hymn to the Virgin" (1930) and a set of choral variations A Boy was Born, written in 1934 for the BBC Singers. The following year he met W. H. Auden with whom he collaborated on the song-cycle Our Hunting Fathers, radical both in politics and musical treatment, and other works. Of more lasting importance was his meeting in 1936 with the tenor Peter Pears, who was to become his musical collaborator and inspiration as well as his life partner. , Lowestoft (pronouned IPA: /loÊŠs tÉ”ft, -tÉ’ft, -tÉ™f/) is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, lying between the eastern edge of The Broads National Park at Oulton Broad and the North Sea. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia in the Catholic Church the patron saint of music and of the blind. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school (usually abbreviated to prep school) is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are called public schools. ... Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school at Holt in North Norfolk, England, founded in the year 1555, a member of the HMC. // Big School, 1903, architect Sir John Simpson Greshams School was established at Holt by Sir John Gresham in 1555, during the reign of Queen... Holt is a market town in the county of Norfolk, England. ... Frank Bridge (February 26, 1879 – January 10, 1941) was an English composer. ... // This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... John Nicholson Ireland (13 August 1879 – 12 June 1962) was an English composer. ... A statue of Ralph Vaughan Williams in Dorking. ... Bust of Alban Berg at Schiefling, Carinthia, Austria Alban Maria Johannes Berg (February 9, 1885 – December 24, 1935) was an Austrian composer. ... The BBC Singers is a professional Chamber Choir run by the BBC, founded in 1924. ... Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) IPA: ;[1], who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. ... This article is about Tenor vocalists in music. ... Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears (June 22, 1910 – April 3, 1986) was an English tenor and life-long partner of the composer Benjamin Britten. ...

In early 1939, the two of them followed Auden to America. There Britten composed Paul Bunyan, an operetta (to a libretto by Auden), as well as the first of many song cycles for Pears; the period was otherwise remarkable for a number of orchestral works, including Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (written in 1937 for string orchestra), the Violin Concerto, and Sinfonia da Requiem (for full orchestra). Paul Bunyan was a choral operetta composed by Benjamin Britten with lyrics by W. H. Auden. ... Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. ... A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in sequence as a single entity. ... Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. ...

Britten and Pears returned to England in 1942, Britten completing the choral works Hymn to Saint Cecilia (his last collaboration with Auden) and A Ceremony of Carols during the long sea voyage. He had already begun work on his opera Peter Grimes based on the writings of Suffolk poet George Crabbe, and its premiere at Sadler's Wells in 1945 was his greatest success so far. However, Britten was encountering opposition from sectors of the English musical establishment and gradually withdrew from the London scene, founding the English Opera Group in 1947 and the Aldeburgh Festival the following year, partly (though not solely) to perform his own works. Hymn to St. ... A Ceremony of Carols (op. ... Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from George Crabbes poem The Borough. ... George Crabbe (December 24, 1754 - February 3, 1832) was an English poet and naturalist. ... The London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera The English National Opera (ENO) is Londons second opera company, after the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. ... The English Opera Group was a small company of British musicians formed in 1947 by the composer Benjamin Britten for the purpose of presenting his and other (primarily British) composers operatic works. ... Snape Maltings concert hall The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. ...

Grimes marked the start of a series of English operas, of which Billy Budd (1951) and The Turn of the Screw (1954) were particularly admired. These operas share common themes, with that of the 'outsider' particularly prevalent. Most feature such a character, excluded or misunderstood by society; often this is the protagonist, such as Peter Grimes and Owen Wingrave in their eponymous operas. An increasingly important influence was the music of the East, an interest fostered by a tour with Pears in 1957, when Britten was much struck by the music of the Balinese gamelan and by Japanese Noh plays. The fruits of this tour include the ballet The Prince of the Pagodas (1957) and the series of semi-operatic "Parables for Church Performance": Curlew River (1964), The Burning Fiery Furnace (1966) and The Prodigal Son (1968). The greatest success of Britten's career was, however, the musically more conventional War Requiem, written for the 1962 consecration of Coventry Cathedral. Billy Budd is an English language opera by Benjamin Britten, first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on December 1, 1951. ... Owen Wingrave (Op. ... This article is about the Indonesian island. ... Gamelan - Indonesian Embassy in Canberra A gamelan is a kind of musical ensemble of Indonesia typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings, and vocalists may also be included. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Curlew River — A Parable for Church Performance (Op. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The War Requiem is a requiem composed by Benjamin Britten for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral on May 30, 1962 following its destruction during World War II. A mourning song for the victims of war, Britten’s War Requiem is considered one of the great heartrending choral-orchestral works of... To consecrate an inanimate object is to dedicate it in a ritual to a special purpose, usually religious. ... The roofless ruins of the old cathedral. ...

Britten developed close friendships with Dmitri Shostakovich and Mstislav Rostropovich in the 1960s, composing his Cello Suites for the latter and conducting the first Western performance of the former's Fourteenth Symphony; Shostakovich dedicated the score to Britten and often spoke very highly of his music. Britten himself had previously dedicated 'The Prodigal Son' (the third and last of the 'Church Parables') to Shostakovich. Dmitri Shostakovich in 1942 Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich   (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906 – August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich KBE (Russian: Мстисла́в Леопо́льдович Ростропо́вич, Mstislav Leopoldovič Rostropovič, IPA: ), (March 27, 1927 – April 27, 2007), known to close friends as “Slava”, was a Russian cellist and conductor. ... The Cello Suites by Benjamin Britten (opp. ... The Symphony No. ...

In the last decade or so of his life, Britten suffered from increasing ill-health and his late works became progressively more sparse in texture. They include the opera Death in Venice (1973), the Suite on English Folk Tunes "A Time There Was" (1974) and Third String Quartet (1975), which drew on material from Death in Venice, as well as the dramatic cantata Phaedra (1976), written for Janet Baker. For other uses, see Death in Venice (disambiguation). ... Phaedra Op. ... Janet Baker as Mary Stuart The British mezzo-soprano Janet Baker (born August 21, 1933) is a well-known opera, concert, and lieder singer. ...

Having previously declined a knighthood, Britten accepted a life peerage on 2 July 1976 as Baron Britten, of Aldeburgh in the County of Suffolk. A few months later he died of heart failure at his house in Aldeburgh. He is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul's Church there. His grave lies next to that of his partner, Sir Peter Pears. The grave of Imogen Holst, a close friend of Britten, can be found directly behind. A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... In the United Kingdom, Life Peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are inheritable are known as hereditary peers). ... is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map sources for Aldeburgh at grid reference TM4656 Aldeburgh is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England; it is located on the Alde river at 52° North, 1° East 1. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery (also called a graveyard, churchyard or kirkyard) is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ... Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears (June 22, 1910 – April 3, 1986) was an English tenor and life-long partner of the composer Benjamin Britten. ... Imogen Holst (April 12, 1907-March 9, 1984) was a British composer and conductor, and the only child of composer Gustav Holst. ...

Music

See also: List of compositions by Benjamin Britten, Category:Compositions by Benjamin Britten, and Category:Operas by Benjamin Britten

One of Britten's best known works is The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1946), which was composed to accompany Instruments of the Orchestra, an educational film produced by the British government, narrated and conducted by Malcolm Sargent. It has the subtitle Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell, and takes a melody from Henry Purcell's Abdelazar as its central theme. Britten gives individual variations to each of the sections of the orchestra, starting with the woodwind, then the string instruments, the brass instruments and finally the percussion. Britten then brings the whole orchestra together again in a fugue before restating the theme to close the work. The original film's spoken commentary is often omitted in concert performances and recordings. This list of compositions by Benjamin Britten includes all the works by English composer Benjamin Britten with opus number. ... The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra, op. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... Sir (Harold) Malcolm (Watts) Sargent (April 29, 1895 – October 3, 1967) was a British conductor, organist and composer. ... Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (IPA: ;[1] September 10 (?),[2], 1659–November 21, 1695), was an English Baroque composer. ... A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument in which sound is produced by blowing through a mouthpiece against an edge or by a vibrating reed, and in which the pitch is varied by opening or closing holes in the body of the instrument. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... Image of a trumpet, foreground, a piccolo trumpet behind, and a flugelhorn in background. ... Percussion redirects here. ... In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ...

Britten was an exceptionally accomplished pianist, and frequently performed in chamber music or accompanying lieder. However, apart from the Piano Concerto (1938) and the Diversions for piano and orchestra (written for Paul Wittgenstein in 1940), he wrote very little music for the instrument, and in a 1963 interview for the BBC said that he thought of it as "a background instrument". Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... Lied (plural Lieder) is a German word, literally meaning song; among English speakers, however, it is used primarily as a term for European classical music songs, also known as art songs. Typically, Lieder are arranged for a single singer and piano. ... Paul Wittgenstein (May 11, 1887 – March 3, 1961) was an Austrian-born pianist. ...

Britten's Church Music is also not inconsiderable: it contains 'classics' such as Rejoice in the Lamb, composed for St Matthew's Northampton (where the Vicar was Revd Walter Hussey) as well as repertoire that is more recherche (like A Hymn to the Virgin, Missa Brevis for Boys voices and Organ). His work as a conductor included not only his own music but also that of many other composers, notably Mozart, Elgar, and Percy Grainger. Among the celebrated recordings which resulted are versions of Mozart's 40th Symphony and Elgar's 'The Dream of Gerontius' (with Pears as Gerontius), together with an album of works by Grainger in which Britten features as pianist as well as conductor. Rejoice in the Lamb (op. ... “Mozart” redirects here. ... Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English Romantic composer. ... Percy Grainger. ... The Dream of Gerontius, popularly called just Gerontius, is an oratorio (Opus 38) in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by Cardinal Newman. ...

One of Britten's solo works that has an indisputably central place in the repertoire of its instrument is his Nocturnal after John Dowland for guitar (1963). This work is typically spare in his late style, and shows the depth of his life-long admiration for Elizabethan lute songs. The theme of the work, John Dowland's Come, Heavy Sleep, emerges in complete form at the close of eight variations, each variation based on some feature, frequently transient or ornamental, of the song or its lute accompaniment. John Dowland (1563 – February 20, 1626) was an English composer, singer, and lutenist. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... The lute song was a generic form of music in the late Renaissance and very early Baroque eras, generally consisting of a singer accompanying himself on a lute, though lute songs may often have been performed by a singer and a separate lutenist. ... A medieval era lute. ...

Awards

• Grammy Awards 1963 - Classical Album Of The Year (for War Requiem)
• Grammy Awards 1963 - Best Classical Performance - Choral (Other Than Opera) (for War Requiem)
• Grammy Awards 1963 - Best Classical Composition By A Contemporary Composer (for War Requiem)
• Sonning Award 1967 (Denmark)
• BRIT Awards 1977 - Best Orchestral Album (of the past 25 years) (for War Requiem)

Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... The War Requiem is a requiem composed by Benjamin Britten for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral on May 30, 1962 following its destruction during World War II. A mourning song for the victims of war, Britten’s War Requiem is considered one of the great heartrending choral-orchestral works of... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... The War Requiem is a requiem composed by Benjamin Britten for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral on May 30, 1962 following its destruction during World War II. A mourning song for the victims of war, Britten’s War Requiem is considered one of the great heartrending choral-orchestral works of... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... The War Requiem is a requiem composed by Benjamin Britten for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral on May 30, 1962 following its destruction during World War II. A mourning song for the victims of war, Britten’s War Requiem is considered one of the great heartrending choral-orchestral works of... The Léonie Sonning Music Prize, or Sonning Award, which is recognized as Denmarks highest musical honor, is given annually to an international musician. ... The Brit Awards are the annual United Kingdom pop music awards founded by the British Phonographic Industry. ... The War Requiem is a requiem composed by Benjamin Britten for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral on May 30, 1962 following its destruction during World War II. A mourning song for the victims of war, Britten’s War Requiem is considered one of the great heartrending choral-orchestral works of...

Reputation

The Scallop by Maggi Hambling is a sculpture dedicated to Benjamin Britten on the beach at Aldeburgh. The edge of the shell is pierced with the words "I hear those voices that will not be drowned" from Peter Grimes.

Britten's status as one of the greatest English composers of the 20th century is now secure among professional critics. In the 1930s he made a conscious effort to set himself apart from the English musical mainstream, which he regarded as complacent, insular and amateurish. Many critics of the time, in return, distrusted his facility, cosmopolitanism and admiration for composers, such as Mahler, Berg, and Stravinsky, not considered appropriate models for a young English musician. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1156x768, 174 KB) Maggi Hambling The Scallop (2003) Aldeburgh beach. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1156x768, 174 KB) Maggi Hambling The Scallop (2003) Aldeburgh beach. ... Hamblings Scallop (2003) stands on the north end of Aldeburgh beach. ... Map sources for Aldeburgh at grid reference TM4656 Aldeburgh is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England; it is located on the Alde river at 52° North, 1° East 1. ... Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from George Crabbes poem The Borough. ... “Mahler” redirects here. ... Bust of Alban Berg at Schiefling, Carinthia, Austria Alban Maria Johannes Berg (February 9, 1885 – December 24, 1935) was an Austrian composer. ... Igor Stravinsky. ...

Even today, criticism of his music is apt to become entangled with consideration of his personality, politics (especially his pacifism in World War II) and his sexuality.^[1] The publication of Humphrey Carpenter's biography in 1992, with its revelations of Britten's often fraught social, professional and sexual relationships, has ensured that he will remain a controversial figure. In 2003, a selection of Britten's writings, edited by Paul Kildea, revealed other ways that he addressed such issues as his pacifism.^[2] A further study along the lines begun by Carpenter is John Bridcut's Britten's Children, 2006, which describes Britten’s infatuation with a series of pre-adolescent boys throughout his life, most notably David Hemmings. Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Brittens Children book cover Britten’s Children is a scholarly 2006 book by John Bridcut that describes the English composer Benjamin Britten’s love for a continuous series of adolescent boys throughout his life. ... This article concerns how a man differs from women. ... David Hemmings in Blowup David Hemmings (18 November 1941 – 3 December 2003) was an English movie actor and director, whose most famous role was the photographer in Michelangelo Antonionis Blowup in 1966 (opposite Vanessa Redgrave), one of the films that best represented the spirit of the 1960s. ...

For many musicians, however, Britten's technique, broad musical and human sympathies and ability to treat the most traditional of musical forms with freshness and originality place him at the head of composers of his generation.

References

• Donald Mitchell, "Britten, (Edward) Benjamin, Baron Britten (1913–1976)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed 18 October 2004: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30853
• Philip Brett. "Benjamin Britten", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed October 18, 2004), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
• Humphrey Carpenter, Benjamin Britten: a biography (London: Faber, 1992) ISBN 0-571-14324-5

Donald Jerome Mitchell (May 8, 1923 - September 27, 2003) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001 The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (April 29, 1946 – January 4, 2005) was an English biographer, author and radio broadcaster. ...

External links

• Britten-Pears Foundation
• BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913–1976)
• Audio (.ram files) of 1957 and 1963 interviews for the BBC
• An extensive list of Benjamin Britten's works
• Recording of Lachrymae
• Britten's Cello Symphony performed by cellist Julian Lloyd Webber