Full Description
Benjamin Britten, pianist, conductor, educator, composer of a wide range of music from large-scale operas and choral works to string quartets and songs, is acknowledged as a pivotal figure in mid-twentieth-century Britain. This volume explores the contexts for his multi-faceted career and his engagement with his contemporaries in music, art, literature, and film, British musical institutions, royal and governmental entities, and the church, as well as his ground-breaking projects, philosophical and ideological tenets. The book is thematically structured in five parts: Britten's relationships with Peter Pears, his close friends, mentors, and colleagues; musical life in Britain; his interactions with previous and contemporary generations of composers; his professional work with choreographers, librettists, stage designers, and directors; and his socio-cultural, religious, and political environment. The chapters shed light on the many opportunities and challenges of post-war British musical life that shaped Britten's creative output.
Contents
Prologue: Positioning Britten Vicki P. Stroeher and Justin Vickers; Part I. The Britten Circle(S): 1. Early mentors: The bridges, the Auden set, and the mayers of long Island Arnold Whittall; 2. Peter Pears Justin Vickers; 3. The open secret Nicholas Clark; 4. Britten's circle Lucy Walker; 5. Britten's musical assistants Christopher Scheer; 6. Britten's publishers as advance and rear guard Philip Reed; Part II. British Musical Life: 7. Composing in England Eric Saylor; 8. Britten and Film Mervyn Cooke; 9. Britten and the radio Alison Garnham; 10. Television and the composer Danielle Ward-Griffin; 11. Music critics and the press Philip Reed and Vicki P. Stroeher; 12. Britten and English opera: Myths and a (Chequered) history Mervyn Cooke; 13. Festival culture in the British Isles Justin Vickers; 14. Concert life in Britain Philip Reed; 15. Benjamin Britten and folksong Julian Onderdonk; 16. Educating the Nation: Britten's music for young people Kate Guthrie; Part III. Britten and Other Composers: 17. The compositional context: creating a voice Christopher Mark; 18. Responding to a British musical past Michael Burden; 19. Britten and the English musical renaissance Alain Frogley; 20. Responding to the continent Arved Ashby; 21. An English tradition? Christopher Mark; 22.'An exciting time with all Russians': Anglo-Soviet musical contacts Cameron Pyke; 23. The Avant-Garde Philip Rupprecht; Part IV. Wordsmiths, Designers, and Performers: 24. W. H. Auden Vicki P. Stroeher; 25. Eric Crozier Justin Vickers; 26. Two librettists: Montagu slater and Ronald Duncan Ian Patterson; 27. The wise, queer heart of Englishness: E. M. Forster Hanna Rochlitz; 28.William Plomer's poetics of exile at home Kevin Salfen; 29.'Don't colour them, the music will do that': Myfanwy Piper and Britten's marriage of words and music Frances Spalding; 30. Designing and dancing Britten Kevin Salfen and Lucy Walker; 31.Pears as illuminator, interpreter, and inspiration Justin Vickers; 32. Britten's singers Roger Vignoles; 33. Britten's performers: those most 'Instrumental' Thomas Schuttenhelm; Part V. British Socio-Cultural, Religious, and Political Life: 34. English and British national identity in the Arts Irene Morra; 35. Britten's landscapes Charlotte de Mille; 36. Monarchy, royalty, and arts patronage Matthias Range; 37. Literary leanings Nicholas Clark; 38. Faith, spirituality, and the church Margaret Lane; 39. The politics of the closet J. P. E. Harper-Scott; 40. Communism, socialism, and pacifism in British politics: From the 1930s to the cold war Joanna Bullivant; Epilogue: Britten's Legacy Arnold Whittall; Topical bibliography for further reading; Works cited; Index.
