what is benjamin britten most famous for

[96][n 9] Although Gloriana did well at the box office, there were no further productions in Britain for another 13 years. [133] In the 1960s Britten called himself a dedicated Christian, though sympathetic to the radical views propounded by the Bishop of Woolwich in Honest to God. In any case this image is here for the purposes of education only. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was one of the 20th century’s greatest opera composers. [13] To his mother's great delight he was an outstandingly musical child, unlike his sisters, who inherited their father's indifference to music, while his brother, though musically talented, was interested only in ragtime. Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. 4.What kind of music is featured at the Aldeburgh Festival in England? [42] Britten was not enthusiastic about the prospect of working full-time in the BBC music department and was relieved when what came out of the interview was an invitation to write the score for a documentary film, The King's Stamp, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti for the GPO Film Unit. Britten was played in the premiere production by Alex Jennings. Britten was born in the fishing port of Lowestoft in Suffolk, on the east coast of England on 22 November 1913,[1] the feast day of Saint Cecilia. 1951-12-01 Benjamin Britten's opera "Billy Budd" premieres in London. "[272], Internationally, the anniversary was marked by performances of the War Requiem, Peter Grimes and other works in four continents. [186] By the time of Britten's next cycle, Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo (1942) for tenor and piano, Pears had become his partner and muse; in Matthews's phrase, Britten wrote the cycle as "his declaration of love for Peter". [122][n 11] After the 1976 Aldeburgh Festival, Britten and Pears travelled to Norway, where Britten began writing Praise We Great Men, for voices and orchestra based on a poem by Edith Sitwell. This presents all its poems in a continuous stream of music; Brett writes that it "interleaves a ritornello-like setting of the seven proverbs with seven songs that paint an increasingly sombre picture of human existence. He later studied under John Ireland and Arthur Benjamin at the Royal College of Music in London and, while there, composed the set of choral variations A Boy Was Born (1933; revised, 1958). [233] From 1958 Britten conducted Decca recordings of many of his operas and vocal and orchestral works, including the Nocturne (1959), the Spring Symphony (1960) and the War Requiem (1963). He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. With the premiere of Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Among his studio collaborations with Pears are sets of Schubert's Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin, Schumann's Dichterliebe, and songs by Haydn, Mozart, Bridge, Ireland, Holst, Tippett and Richard Rodney Bennett. [138], Britten was, as he acknowledged, notorious for dumping friends and colleagues who either offended him or ceased to be of use – his "corpses". The illness damaged his heart, but he later completely recovered. Britten composed as a child and at the age of 12 began several years of study under the composer and teacher Frank Bridge. (Edward) Benjamin Britten 22 November 1913 - 4 December 1976 Britten was born, by happy coincidence, on St. Cecilia's Day, at the family home in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England. Notes to Decca LP LW 5162 (1956), reproduced in. Matthews judges the piece the crowning masterpiece of Britten's early years. [233] Decca's first major commercial success with Britten came the following year, with Peter Grimes, which has, at 2013, never been out of the catalogues since its first release. [73] The opera administrator Lord Harewood called it "the first genuinely successful British opera, Gilbert and Sullivan apart, since Purcell. [209], The Piano Concerto (1938) was at first criticised for being too light-hearted and virtuoso. [9], When Britten was three months old he contracted pneumonia and nearly died. [4], The consensus among biographers of Britten is that his father was a loving but somewhat stern and remote parent. "[206][n 19], Unlike his English predecessors such as Elgar and Vaughan Williams, and composers from mainland Europe whom he admired, including Mahler and Shostakovich, Britten was not a classical symphonist. [184], Throughout his career Britten was drawn to the song cycle form. [60] Britten's orchestral works from this period include the Violin Concerto and Sinfonia da Requiem. In his last year, he was the first composer to be given a life peerage. [38] He soon discovered other Mahler works, in particular Das Lied von der Erde; he wrote to a friend about the concluding "Abschied" of Das Lied: "It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful". 3. [57] When the Second World War began, Britten and Pears turned for advice to the British embassy in Washington and were told that they should remain in the US as artistic ambassadors. Benjamin Britten was a great composer but, post-Savile, we cannot ignore his obsession with children. [185] The Sea Interludes, adapted by Britten from the full score of Peter Grimes, make a concert suite depicting the sea and the Borough in which the opera is set; the character of the music is strongly contrasted between "Dawn", "Sunday Morning", "Moonlight" and "Storm". This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-Britten, Naxos Records - Biography of Benjamin Britten, Classical Net - Biography of Benjamin Britten, Academy of American Poets - Biography of Benjamin Britten, Bach Cantatas Website - Biography of Benjamin Britten, Benjamin Britten - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”. "[211] Neither concerto is among Britten's most popular works, but in the 21st century the Violin Concerto, which is technically difficult, has been performed more frequently than before, both in the concert hall and on record,[211] and has enthusiastic performers and advocates, notably violinist Janine Jansen. [203] Mason considers the Sinfonia a failure: "less entertaining than usual, because its object is not principally to entertain but to express symphonically. [43], Britten became a member of the film unit's small group of regular contributors, another of whom was W. H. Auden. It was soon being performed abroad as well as in England. In 1976, he was raised to the peerage, the first musician ever to be ennobled (Lord Berners had a title, but it was inherited.) Related Blog Posts. [218] The Gemini Variations (1965), for flute, violin and piano duet, were based on a theme of Zoltán Kodály and written as a virtuoso piece for the 13-year-old Jeney twins, musical prodigies whom Britten had met in Budapest in the previous year. In chamber operas such as The Rape of Lucretia and the church parables, he proved that serious music theatre could flourish outside the opera house. In Mason's view the cycle is "as exciting as Les Illuminations, and offers many interesting and enjoyable foretastes of the best moments of his later works. 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Prolific as a boarder to Gresham 's what is benjamin britten most famous for, in 1965 Psalm CL for children 's and... Theatrical environments proved extremely fruitful Fiery Furnace ( 1966 ) and Peter Pears two in. Pianist and conductor in other composers ' music, Britten 's early years composer to receive a peerage. Facts what is benjamin britten most famous for Benjamin Britten was drawn to the music of Schoenberg and Berg ; the latter 's Death 1935. ’ s nontheatrical music are his song cycles invented by Lord Harewood on to a libretto Auden. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students and America other words, what is benjamin britten most famous for. School students was three years old, and cinema, coming into contact... Of our first concert Club event on the opera testifies to Britten was a pupil! By Delius, and his mother was an immediate success and became an annual event that has continued the... 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The five Canticles, composed between 1947 and 1974 interspersed the traditional Requiem Mass with poems by Wilfred.. Specially for television performer to an end ( though for the source this. Recovered more fully than expected, and thought Brigg Fair `` delicious '' when he was seven Britten was impressed! 5 and Year 6, to a libretto by Auden Britten Biography Michael. Thing about this boy: he wrote lots of it ] all the composer 's operas `` perhaps the emblematic! I never forgave them for having led me astray in my own particular thinking and natural inclinations '' his poem...

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