Benjamin Britten

Britten redirects here.

(disambiguation).

For other uses, see Britten the operas are the struggle of an outsider against a hostile
society, and the corruption of innocence.
Brittens other works range from orchestral to choral,
solo vocal, chamber and instrumental as well as lm music. He took a great interest in writing music for children and amateur performers, including the opera Noyes
Fludde, a Missa Brevis, and the song collection Friday Afternoons. He often composed with particular performers
in mind. His most frequent and important muse was his
personal and professional partner, the tenor Peter Pears;
others included Kathleen Ferrier, Jennifer Vyvyan, Janet
Baker, Dennis Brain, Julian Bream, Dietrich FischerDieskau and Mstislav Rostropovich. Britten was a celebrated pianist and conductor, performing many of his
own works in concert and on record. He also performed and recorded works by others, such as Bach's
Brandenburg concertos, Mozart symphonies, and song cycles by Schubert and Schumann.
Together with Pears and the librettist and producer Eric
Crozier, Britten founded the annual Aldeburgh Festival
in 1948, and he was responsible for the creation of Snape
Maltings concert hall in 1967. In his last year, he was the
rst composer to be given a life peerage.

1 Life and career

Britten in the mid-1960s (photograph by Hans Wild)

Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH 1.1

(22 November 1913 4 December 1976) was an English
composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central gure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range
of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral
and chamber pieces. His best-known works include the
opera Peter Grimes (1945), the War Requiem (1962) and
the orchestral showpiece The Young Persons Guide to the
Orchestra (1945).
Born in Suolk, the son of a dentist, Britten showed talent from an early age. He studied at the Royal College of
Music in London and privately with the composer Frank
Bridge. Britten rst came to public attention with the a
cappella choral work A Boy was Born in 1934. With the
premiere of Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to international
fame. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas,
establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century
composers in the genre. In addition to large-scale operas
for Sadlers Wells and Covent Garden, he wrote chamber operas for small forces, suitable for performance in
venues of modest size. Among the best known of these
is The Turn of the Screw (1954). Recurring themes in

Early years

Brittens birthplace in Lowestoft, which was the Britten family

home for over twenty years

Britten was born in the shing port of Lowestoft in

Suolk, on the east coast of England on 22 November
1

1913,[1] the feast day of Saint Cecilia.[2] He was the

youngest of four children of Robert Victor Britten (1878
1934) and his wife Edith Rhoda, ne Hockey (1874
1937).[n 1] Robert Brittens youthful ambition to become
a farmer had been thwarted by lack of capital, and he
had instead trained as a dentist, a profession he practised successfully but without pleasure. While studying at
Charing Cross Hospital in London he met Edith Hockey,
the daughter of a junior Home Oce ocial. They were
married in September 1901 at St Johns, Smith Square,
London.[4]

LIFE AND CAREER

Britten was outraged at the severe corporal punishments

frequently handed out, and later he said that his lifelong pacism probably had its roots in his reaction to
the regime at the school.[19] He himself rarely fell foul of
Sewell, a mathematician, in which subject Britten was a
star pupil. The school had no musical tradition, and Britten continued to study the piano with Ethel Astle. From
the age of ten he took viola lessons from a friend of his
mothers, Audrey Alston, who had been a professional
player before her marriage.[20] In his spare time he composed prolically. When his Simple Symphony, based on
The consensus among biographers of Britten is that his these juvenilia, was recorded in 1956, Britten wrote this
pen-portrait of his young self for the sleeve note:
father was a loving but somewhat stern and remote
[5]
parent. Britten, according to his sister Beth, got on
well with him and shared his wry sense of humour, dedOnce upon a time there was a prep-school
ication to work and capacity for taking pains.[6] Edith
boy. ... He was quite an ordinary little boy ...
Britten was a talented amateur musician and secretary of
he loved cricket, only quite liked football (althe Lowestoft Musical Society.[7] In the English provinces
though he kicked a pretty corner); he adored
of the early 20th century, distinctions of social class were
mathematics, got on all right with history, was
taken very seriously. Britten described his family as
scared by Latin Unseen; he behaved fairly well,
very ordinary middle class, but there were aspects of
only ragged the recognised amount, so that his
the Brittens that were not ordinary: Ediths father was
contacts with the cane or the slipper were hapillegitimate, and her mother was an alcoholic; Robert
pily rare (although one nocturnal expedition to
Britten was an agnostic and refused to attend church
stalk ghosts left its marks behind); he worked
on Sundays.[8] Music was the principal means by which
his way up the school slowly and steadily, unEdith Britten strove to maintain the familys social standtil at the age of thirteen he reached that pining, inviting the pillars of the local community to musical
nacle of importance and grandeur never to be
soires at the house.[9]
quite equalled in later days: the head of the
Sixth, head-prefect, and Victor Ludorum. But
When Britten was three months old he contracted pneu there was one curious thing about this boy: he
monia and nearly died.[10] The illness left him with a
wrote music. His friends bore with it, his enedamaged heart,[11] and doctors warned his parents that he
mies kicked a bit but not for long (he was quite
would probably never be able to lead a normal life.[12] He
tough), the sta couldn't object if his work and
recovered more fully than expected, and as a boy was a
[13]
games didn't suer. He wrote lots of it, reams
keen tennis player and cricketer. To his mothers great
and reams of it.[21]
delight he was an outstandingly musical child, unlike his
sisters, who inherited their fathers indierence to music,
while his brother, though musically talented, was interested only in ragtime.[14] Edith gave the young Britten his
rst lessons in piano and notation. He made his rst attempts at composition when he was ve.[15] He started piano lessons when he was seven years old, and three years
later began to play the viola.[16] He was one of the last
composers brought up on exclusively live music: his father refused to have a gramophone or, later, a radio in the
house.[9]

1.2

Education

1.2.1

Lowestoft

When he was seven Britten was sent to a dame school,

run by the Misses Astle. The younger sister, Ethel, gave
him piano lessons; in later life he said that he remained
grateful for the excellence of her teaching.[17] The following year he moved on to his prep school, South Lodge,
Lowestoft, as a day boy.[18] The headmaster, Thomas
Sewell, was an old-fashioned disciplinarian; the young Frank Bridge, Brittens teacher

1.3

Early professional life

Audrey Alston encouraged Britten to go to symphony

concerts in Norwich. At one of these, during the triennial
Norfolk and Norwich Festival on 30 October 1924,[22] he
heard Frank Bridge's orchestral poem The Sea, conducted
by the composer. It was the rst substantial piece of modern music he had ever encountered,[23] and he was, in his
own phrase, knocked sideways.[24] Audrey Alston was
a friend of Bridge; when he returned to Norwich for the
next festival in 1927 she brought her not quite 14-yearold pupil to meet him. Bridge was impressed with the
boy, and after they had gone through some of Brittens
compositions together he invited him to come to London
to take lessons from him.[25] Robert Britten, supported by
Thomas Sewell, doubted the wisdom of pursuing a composing career; a compromise was agreed by which Britten
would, as planned, go on to his public school the following year but would make regular day-trips to London to
study composition with Bridge and piano with his colleague Harold Samuel.[26]

3
In September 1928 Britten went as a boarder to
Greshams School, in Holt, Norfolk. At the time he felt
unhappy there, even writing in his diary of contemplating suicide or running away:[30] he hated being separated
from his family, most particularly from his mother; he
despised the music master; and he was shocked at the
prevalence of bullying, though he was not the target of
it.[31][n 3] He remained there for two years and in 1930,
he won a composition scholarship at the Royal College
of Music (RCM) in London; his examiners were the
composers John Ireland and Ralph Vaughan Williams
and the colleges harmony and counterpoint teacher, S P
Waddington.[33]
Britten was at the RCM from 1930 to 1933, studying
composition with Ireland and piano with Arthur Benjamin. He won the Sullivan Prize for composition, the
Cobbett Prize for chamber music, and was twice winner
of the Ernest Farrar Prize for composition.[34] These honours notwithstanding, he was not greatly impressed by the
establishment: he found his fellow-students amateurish
and folksy and the sta inclined to suspect technical
brilliance of being supercial and insincere.[35][n 4] Another Ireland pupil, the composer Humphrey Searle, said
that Ireland could be an inspiring teacher to those on
his own wavelength"; Britten was not, and learned little from him.[37] He continued to study privately with
Bridge,[38] although he later praised Ireland for nurs[ing]
me very gently through a very, very dicult musical
adolescence.[38]

Bridge impressed on Britten the importance of scrupulous attention to the technical craft of composing[n 2] and
the maxim that you should nd yourself and be true to
what you found.[28] The earliest substantial works Britten composed while studying with Bridge are the String
Quartet in F, completed in April 1928, and the Quatre Chansons Franaises, a song-cycle for high voice and
orchestra. Authorities dier on the extent of Bridges
inuence on his pupils technique. Humphrey Carpenter and Michael Oliver judge that Brittens abilities as
an orchestrator were essentially self-taught;[29] Donald
Britten also used his time in London to attend conMitchell considers that Bridge had an important inuence certs and become better acquainted with the music
on the cycle.[28]
of Stravinsky, Shostakovich and, most particularly,
Mahler.[n 5] He intended postgraduate study in Vienna
with Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg's student, but was
eventually dissuaded by his parents, on the advice of the
1.2.2 Public school and Royal College of Music
RCM sta.[40]
The rst of Brittens compositions to attract wide attention were composed while at the RCM: the Sinfonietta,
Op. 1 (1932), and a set of choral variations A Boy was
Born, written in 1933 for the BBC Singers, who rst performed it the following year.[41] In this same period he
wrote Friday Afternoons, a collection of 12 songs for
the pupils of Clive House School, Prestatyn, where his
brother was headmaster.[42]

1.3 Early professional life

Early inuences, clockwise from top left: Mahler, Ireland,

Shostakovich, Stravinsky

In February 1935, at Bridges instigation, Britten was invited to a job interview by the BBC's director of music
Adrian Boult and his assistant Edward Clark.[43] Britten
was not enthusiastic about the prospect of working fulltime 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 lm, The Kings Stamp, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti for the GPO Film Unit.[44]
Britten became a member of the lm units small group

LIFE AND CAREER

Pears. Although Britten was extraordinarily devoted to

his mother and was devastated at her death, it also seems
to have been something of a liberation for him.[50] Only
after that did he begin to engage in emotional relationships with people his own age or younger.[51] Later in the
year he got to know Pears while they were both helping
to clear out the country cottage of a mutual friend who
had died in an air crash.[52] Pears quickly became Brittens musical inspiration and close (though for the moment platonic) friend. Brittens rst work for him was
composed within weeks of their meeting, a setting of
Emily Bront's poem, A thousand gleaming res, for
tenor and strings.[53]
During 1937 Britten composed a Pacist March to words
by Ronald Duncan for the Peace Pledge Union, of which,
as a pacist, he had become an active member; the work
was not a success and was soon withdrawn.[54] The best
known of his compositions from this period is probably Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra, described by Matthews as the rst of Brittens
works to become a popular classic.[55] It was a success
in North America, with performances in Toronto, New
York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, under conductors including John Barbirolli and Serge Koussevitzky.[56]

1.4 America 193942

W H Auden in 1939

of regular contributors, another of whom was W H Auden. Together they worked on the documentary lms
Coal Face and Night Mail in 1935.[45] They also collaborated on the song cycle Our Hunting Fathers (1936),
radical both in politics and musical treatment, and subsequently other works including Cabaret Songs, On This
Island, Paul Bunyan and Hymn to St. Cecilia.[46] Auden
was a considerable inuence on Britten, encouraging him
to widen his aesthetic, intellectual and political horizons,
and also to come to terms with his homosexuality. Auden
was, as David Matthews puts it, cheerfully and guiltlessly
promiscuous"; Britten, puritanical and conventional by
nature, was sexually repressed.[47]
Britten composed prolically in this period. In the three
years from 1935 to 1937 he wrote nearly 40 scores for
the theatre, cinema and radio.[48] Among the lm music
of the late 1930s Matthews singles out Night Mail and
Love from a Stranger (1937); among the theatre music
he selects for mention, The Ascent of F6 (1936), On the
Frontier (1938) and Johnson Over Jordan (1939); and of
the music for radio, King Arthur (1937) and The Sword
in the Stone (1939).[49]

In April 1939 Britten and Pears sailed to North America,

going rst to Canada and then to New York. They had
several reasons for leaving England, including the dicult position of pacists in an increasingly bellicose Europe; the success that Frank Bridge had enjoyed in the
US; the departure of Auden and his friend Christopher
Isherwood to the US from England three months previously; hostile or belittling reviews of Brittens music in the English press; and under-rehearsed and inadequate performances.[28][57] Britten and Pears consummated their relationship and from then until Brittens
death they were partners in both their professional and
personal lives.[58] 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.[56] Pears was inclined to
disregard the advice and go back to England; Britten also
felt the urge to return, but accepted the embassys counsel
and persuaded Pears to do the same.[59]

Already a friend of the composer Aaron Copland, Britten

encountered his latest works Billy the Kid and An Outdoor
Overture, both of which inuenced his own music.[60] In
1940 Britten composed Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo,
the rst of many song cycles for Pears.[61] Brittens orchestral works from this period include the Violin Concerto and Sinfonia da Requiem. In 1941 Britten produced his rst music drama, Paul Bunyan, an operetta,
to a libretto by Auden.[57] While in the US, Britten had
In 1937 there were two events of huge importance in Brit- his rst encounter with Balinese gamelan music, through
tens life: his mother died, and he met the tenor Peter transcriptions for piano duo made by the Canadian com-

1.5

Return to England

poser Colin McPhee. The two met in the summer of 1939

and subsequently performed a number of McPhees transcriptions for a recording.[62] This musical encounter bore
fruit in several Balinese-inspired works later in Brittens
career.[63]
Moving to the US did not relieve Britten of the nuisance
of hostile criticism: although Olin Downes, the doyen of
New York music critics, and Irving Kolodin took to Brittens music, Virgil Thomson was, as the music scholar
Suzanne Robinson puts it, consistently severe and spiteful. Thomson described Les Illuminations (1940) as little more than a series of bromidic and facile 'eects
... pretentious, banal and utterly disappointing, and was
equally unattering about Pearss voice. Robinson surmises that Thomson was motivated by a mixture of spite,
national pride, and professional jealousy.[56] Paul Bunyan met with wholesale critical disapproval,[64] and the
Sinfonia da Requiem (already rejected by its Japanese
sponsors because of its overtly Christian nature) received
a mixed reception when Barbirolli and the New York
Philharmonic premiered it in March 1941. The reputation of the work was much enhanced when Koussevitzky
took it up shortly afterwards.[65]

1.5

Return to England

In 1942 Britten read the work of the poet George Crabbe

for the rst time.[66] The Borough, set on the Suolk coast
close to Brittens homeland, awakened in him such longings for England that he knew he must return. He also
knew that he must write an opera based on Crabbes poem
about the sherman Peter Grimes.[56] Before Britten left
the US, Koussevitzky, always generous in encouraging
new talent, oered him a $1,000 commission to write
the opera.[56][n 6] Britten and Pears returned to England
in April 1942. During the long transatlantic sea crossing
Britten completed the choral works A Ceremony of Carols
and Hymn to St Cecilia. The latter was his last large-scale
collaboration with Auden. Britten had grown away from
him, and Auden became one of the composers so-called
corpses former intimates from whom he completely
cut o contact once they had outlived their usefulness to
him or oended him in some way.[69]

Page from Peter Grimes in 1812 edition of Crabbe's The Borough

tens score, as well as some ill-suppressed homophobic

remarks.[72] Peter Grimes opened in June 1945 and was
hailed by public and critics;[73] its box-oce takings
matched or exceeded those for La bohme and Madame
Buttery, which were staged during the same season.[74]
The opera administrator Lord Harewood called it the
rst genuinely successful British opera, Gilbert and Sullivan apart, since Purcell.[75] Dismayed by the in-ghting
among the company, Cross, Britten and Pears severed
their ties with Sadlers Wells in December 1945, goto found what was to become the English Opera
Having arrived in Britain, Britten and Pears applied for ing on [76]
Group.
recognition as conscientious objectors; Britten was initially allowed only non-combatant service in the military, A month after the opening of Peter Grimes, Britten and
but on appeal he gained unconditional exemption.[70] Af- Yehudi Menuhin went to Germany to give recitals to conter the death of his mother in 1937 he had used money centration camp survivors.[77] What they saw, at Belsen
she bequeathed him to buy the Old Mill in Snape, Suf- most of all, so shocked Britten that he refused to talk
folk which became his country home. He spent much of about it until towards the end of his life, when he told
his time there in 1944 working on the opera Peter Grimes. Pears that it had coloured everything he had written
Pears joined Sadlers Wells Opera Company, whose artis- since.[78] Colin Matthews comments that the next two
tic director, the singer Joan Cross, announced her inten- works Britten composed after his return, the song-cycle
tion to re-open the companys home base in London with The Holy Sonnets of John Donne and the Second String
Brittens opera, casting herself and Pears in the leading Quartet, contrast strongly with earlier, lighter-hearted
roles.[n 7] There were complaints from company members works such as Les Illuminations.[79] Britten recovered his
about supposed favouritism and the cacophony of Brit- joie de vivre for The Young Persons Guide to the Orches-

LIFE AND CAREER

tra (1945), written for an educational lm, Instruments

of the Orchestra, directed by Muir Mathieson and featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Malcolm Sargent.[80] It became, and remained, his most
often played and popular work.[81]
Brittens next opera, The Rape of Lucretia, was presented
at the rst post-war Glyndebourne Festival in 1946. It
was then taken on tour to provincial cities under the banner of the Glyndebourne English Opera Company, an
uneasy alliance of Britten and his associates with John
Christie, the autocratic proprietor of Glyndebourne.[82]
The tour lost money heavily, and Christie announced that
he would underwrite no more tours.[83] Britten and his
associates set up the English Opera Group; the librettist
Eric Crozier and the designer John Piper joined Britten
as artistic directors. The groups express purpose was to
produce and commission new English operas and other
works, presenting them throughout the country.[84] Britten wrote the comic opera Albert Herring for the group in
1947; while on tour in the new work Pears came up with
the idea of mounting a festival in the small Suolk seaside town of Aldeburgh, where Britten had moved from
Snape earlier in the year, and which became his principal
residence for the rest of his life.[85]

1.6

Aldeburgh; the 1950s

The Aldeburgh Festival was launched in June 1948, with

Britten, Pears and Crozier directing it.[86] Albert Herring
played at the Jubilee Hall, and Brittens new cantata for
tenor, chorus and orchestra, Saint Nicolas, was presented
in the parish church.[87] The festival was an immediate
success and became an annual event that has continued
into the 21st century.[88] New works by Britten featured
in almost every festival until his death in 1976, including
the premieres of his operas A Midsummer Nights Dream
at the Jubilee Hall in 1960 and Death in Venice at Snape
Maltings Concert Hall in 1973.[89]
Unlike many leading English composers, Britten was not
known as a teacher,[n 8] but in 1949 he accepted his only
private pupil, Arthur Oldham, who studied with him for
three years. Oldham made himself useful, acting as musical assistant and arranging Variations on a Theme by
Frank Bridge for full orchestra for the Frederick Ashton
ballet Le Rve de Lonor (1949),[93] but he later described
the teacherpupil relationship as benecial ve per cent
to [Britten] and ninety-ve per cent to me!"[94]
Throughout the 1950s Britten continued to write operas.
Billy Budd (1951) was well received at its Covent Garden
premiere and was regarded by reviewers as an advance
on Peter Grimes.[95] Gloriana (1953), written to mark the
coronation of Elizabeth II, had a cool reception at the gala
premiere in the presence of the Queen and the British
Establishment en masse. The downbeat story of Elizabeth
I in her decline, and Brittens score reportedly thought
by members of the premieres audience too modern for

John Piper's Benjamin Britten memorial window in the Church

of St Peter and St Paul, Aldeburgh.

such a gala[96] did not overcome what Matthews calls

the ingrained philistinism of the ruling classes.[97][n 9]
Although Gloriana did well at the box oce, there were
no further productions in Britain for another 13 years.[98]
It was later recognised as one of Brittens ner operas.[99]
The Turn of the Screw the following year was an unqualied success;[100] together with Peter Grimes it became,
and at 2013 remained, one of the two most frequently
performed of Brittens operas.[101]
In the 1950s the fervently anti-homosexual Home
Secretary, David Maxwell Fyfe,[102] urged the police
to enforce the Victorian laws making homosexual acts
illegal.[103][n 10] Britten and Pears came under scrutiny;
Britten was visited by police ocers in 1953 and was
so perturbed that he discussed with his assistant Imogen
Holst the possibility that Pears might have to enter a sham
marriage (with whom is unclear). In the end nothing was
done.[104]
An increasingly important inuence on Britten was the
music of the East, an interest that was fostered by a tour
there with Pears in 1956, when Britten once again encountered the music of the Balinese gamelan[105] and saw
for the rst time Japanese Noh plays, which he called
some of the most wonderful drama I have ever seen.[106]
These eastern inuences were seen and heard in the ballet
The Prince of the Pagodas (1957) and later in two of the
three semi-operatic Parables for Church Performance":
Curlew River (1964) and The Prodigal Son (1968).[107]

1.8

Last years

1.7

1960s

7
quiem, was premiered in 1962. He had been asked four
years earlier to write a work for the consecration of the
new Coventry Cathedral, a modernist building designed
by Basil Spence. The old cathedral had been left in
ruins by an air-raid on the city in 1940 in which hundreds of people died.[114] Britten decided that his work
would commemorate the dead of both World Wars in
a large-scale score for soloists, chorus, chamber ensemble and orchestra. His text interspersed the traditional
Requiem Mass with poems by Wilfred Owen. Matthews
writes, With the War Requiem Britten reached the apex
of his reputation: it was almost universally hailed as
a masterpiece.[115] Shostakovich told Rostropovich that
he believed it to be the greatest work of the twentieth
century.[116]

By the 1960s, the Aldeburgh Festival was outgrowing its

customary venues, and plans to build a new concert hall in
Aldeburgh were not progressing. When redundant Victorian maltings buildings in the village of Snape, six miles
inland, became available for hire, Britten realised that the
largest of them could be converted into a concert hall
and opera house. The 830-seat Snape Maltings hall was
opened by the Queen at the start of the twentieth Aldeburgh Festival on 2 June 1967; it was immediately hailed
as one of the best concert halls in the country.[108] The
hall was destroyed by re in 1969, but Britten was determined that it would be rebuilt in time for the following
years festival, which it was. The Queen again attended
the opening performance in 1970.[109]
In 1967 the BBC commissioned Britten to write an
opera specially for television. Owen Wingrave was based,
like The Turn of the Screw, on a ghost story by Henry
James.[57] By the 1960s Britten found composition much
slower than in his prolic youth; he told the 28-year-old
composer Nicholas Maw, Get as much done now as you
can, because it gets much, much more dicult as you
grow older.[117] He did not complete the score of the
new opera until August 1970.[57] Owen Wingrave was rst
broadcast in Britain in May 1971, when it was also televised in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,
Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland,
the USA and Yugoslavia.[118]

1.8 Last years

In September 1970 Britten asked Myfanwy Piper, who
had adapted the two Henry James stories for him, to turn
another prose story into a libretto. This was Thomas
Mann's novella Death in Venice, a subject he had been
considering for some time.[119] At an early stage in composition Britten was told by his doctors that a heart operation was essential if he was to live for more than
two years. He was determined to nish the opera and
worked urgently to complete it before going into hospital
for surgery.[120] His long-term colleague Colin Graham
wrote:
Mstislav Rostropovich and Britten, 1964

The Maltings gave the festival a venue that could

comfortably house large orchestral works and operas.
Britten conducted the rst performance outside Russia of Shostakovichs Fourteenth Symphony at Snape in
1970.[110] Shostakovich, a friend since 1960, dedicated
the symphony to Britten;[111] he was himself the dedicatee of The Prodigal Son.[112] Two other Russian musicians
who were close to Britten and regularly performed at the
festival were the pianist Sviatoslav Richter and the cellist
Mstislav Rostropovich. Britten composed his cello suites,
Cello Symphony and Cello Sonata for Rostropovich, who
premiered them at the Aldeburgh Festival.[113]

Perhaps of all his works, this one went

deepest into Brittens own soul: there are extraordinary cross-currents of anity between
himself, his own state of health and mind,
Thomas Mann, Aschenbach (Manns dying
protagonist), and Peter Pears, who must have
had to tear himself in three in order to reconstitute himself as the principal character.[120]

After the completion of the opera Britten went into the

National Heart Hospital and was operated on in May 1973
to replace a failing heart valve. The replacement was successful, but he suered a slight stroke, aecting his right
One of the best known of Brittens works, the War Re- hand. This brought his career as a performer to an end.[57]

PERSONAL LIFE AND CHARACTER

While in hospital Britten became friendly with a senior to God.[135] Politically, Britten was on the left. He told
nursing sister, Rita Thomson; she moved to Aldeburgh in Pears that he always voted either Liberal or Labour and
1974 and looked after him until his death.[121]
could not imagine ever voting Conservative, but he was
member of any party, except the Peace Pledge
Brittens last works include the Suite on English Folk never a[136]
Union.
Tunes A Time There Was (1974); the Third String
Quartet (1975), which drew on material from Death in Physically, Britten was never robust. He walked and
Venice; and the dramatic cantata Phaedra (1975), written swam regularly and kept himself as t as he could, but
for Janet Baker.[122]
Carpenter in his 1992 biography mentions 20 illnesses,
In July 1976, the last year of his life, Britten accepted a few of them minor but most fairly serious, suered
by Britten before his nal heart complaint
a life peerage the rst composer so honoured be- over the years
[137]
developed.
Emotionally, according to some commencoming Baron Britten of Aldeburgh in the County of
tators,
Britten
never
completely grew up, retaining in his
[123][n 11]
Suolk.
After the 1976 Aldeburgh Festival, Britoutlook
something
of
a childs view of the world.[57][138]
ten and Pears travelled to Norway, where Britten began
writing Praise We Great Men, for voices and orchestra He was not always condent that he was the genius others
based on a poem by Edith Sitwell.[126] He returned to declared him to be, and though he was hypercritical of his
aggressively sensitive to
Aldeburgh in August, and wrote Welcome Ode for chil- own works, he was acutely, even
[139]
criticism
from
anybody
else.
[127]
In November, Britten redrens choir and orchestra.
alised that he could no longer compose.[128] On his 63rd
birthday, 22 November, at his request Rita Thomson organised a champagne party and invited his friends and his
sisters Barbara and Beth, to say their goodbyes to the dying composer.[129] When Rostropovich made his farewell
visit a few days later, Britten gave him what he had written of Praise We Great Men.[129]
I heard of his death ... and took a long walk in total silence
through gently falling snow across a frozen lake, which
corresponded exactly to the inexpressible sense of numbness at such a loss. The world is colder and lonelier without the presence of our supreme creator of music.

Peter Maxwell Davies, 1977[117]

Britten was, as he acknowledged, notorious for dumping friends and colleagues who either oended him or
ceased to be of use his corpses.[140] The conductor Sir
Charles Mackerras believed that the term was invented by
Lord Harewood. Both Mackerras and Harewood joined
the list of corpses, the former for joking that the number of boys in Noyes Fludde must have been a delight
to the composer, and the latter for an extramarital affair and subsequent divorce from Lady Harewood, which
shocked the puritanical Britten.[141] Among other corpses
were his librettists Montagu Slater and Eric Crozier. The
latter said in 1949, He has sometimes told me, jokingly,
that one day I would join the ranks of his 'corpses and
I have always recognized that any ordinary person must
soon outlive his usefulness to such a great creative artist as
Ben.[140] Dame Janet Baker said in 1981, I think he was
quite entitled to take what he wanted from others ... He
did not want to hurt anyone, but the task in hand was more
important than anything or anybody.[142] Matthews feels
that this aspect of Britten has been exaggerated, and he
observes that the composer sustained many deep friendships to the end of his life.[143]

Britten died of congestive heart failure on 4 December 1976. His funeral service was held at Aldeburgh
Parish Church three days later,[129] and he was buried
in its churchyard, with a gravestone carved by Reynolds
Stone.[130] The authorities at Westminster Abbey had offered burial there, but Britten had made it clear that he
2.1 Controversies
wished his grave to be side by side with that, in due
[131]
A memorial service was held at the
course, of Pears.
Abbey on 10 March 1977, at which the congregation was Boys
headed by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.[132]
Throughout his adult life, Britten had a particular rapport
with children and enjoyed close friendships with several
boys, particularly those in their early teens.[n 12] The rst
such friendship was with Piers Dunkerley, 13 years old in
2 Personal life and character
1934 when Britten was aged 20.[146] Other boys Britten
befriended were the young David Hemmings and Michael
Despite his large number of works on Christian themes, Crawford, both of whom sang treble roles in his works in
Britten has sometimes been thought of as agnostic.[133] the 1950s.[147] Hemmings later said, In all of the time
Pears said that when they met in 1937 he was not sure that I spent with him he never abused that trust, and
whether or not Britten would have described himself as Crawford wrote I cannot say enough about the kindness
a Christian.[134] In the 1960s Britten called himself a of that great man ... he had a wonderful patience and
dedicated Christian, though sympathetic to the radical anity with young people. He loved music, and loved
views propounded by the Bishop of Woolwich in Honest youngsters caring about music.[28]

9
It was long suspected by several of Brittens close associates that there was something exceptional about his attraction to teenage boys: Auden referred to Brittens attraction to thin-as-a-board juveniles ... to the sexless and
innocent,[148] and Pears once wrote to Britten: remember there are lovely things in the world still children,
boys, sunshine, the sea, Mozart, you and me.[149] In public, the matter was little discussed during Brittens lifetime and much discussed after it.[n 13] Carpenters 1992
biography closely examined the evidence, as do later studies of Britten, most particularly John Bridcut's Brittens
Children (2006), which concentrates on Brittens friendships and relationships with various children and adolescents. Some commentators have continued to question
Brittens conduct, sometimes very sharply.[151] Carpenter and Bridcut conclude that he held any sexual impulses
under rm control and kept the relationships aectionate
but strictly platonic.[152]

Brittens grave in St. Peter and St Pauls Church, Aldeburgh, Suffolk

Cause of death
A more recent controversy was the statement in a 2013
biography of Britten by Paul Kildea that the composers
heart failure was due to undetected syphilis, which Kildea
speculates was a result of Pearss promiscuity while the
two were living in New York.[153] In response, Brittens
consultant cardiologist said that, like all the hospitals
similar cases, Britten was routinely screened for syphilis
before the operation, with negative results.[154] He described as complete rubbish Kildeas allegation that the
surgeon who operated on Britten in 1973 would or even
could have covered up a syphilitic condition.[155] Kildea
continued to maintain, When all the composers symptoms are considered there can be only one cause.[156] In
The Times, Richard Morrison praised the rest of Kildeas
book, and hoped that its reputation would not be tarnished by one sensational speculation ... some secondhand hearsay ... presenting unsubstantiated gossip as
fact.[157]

3 Music
See also: List of compositions by Benjamin Britten

3.1 Inuences
Brittens early musical life was dominated by the classical masters; his mothers ambition was for him to become
the "Fourth B" after Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.[158]
Britten was later to assert that his initial development as
a composer was stied by reverence for these masters:
Between the ages of thirteen and sixteen I knew every
note of Beethoven and Brahms. I remember receiving
the full score of Fidelio for my fourteenth birthday ...
But I think in a sense I never forgave them for having
led me astray in my own particular thinking and natural
inclinations.[159] He developed a particular animosity towards Brahms, whose piano music he had once held in
great esteem; in 1952 he conded that he played through
all Brahmss music from time to time, to see if I am right
about him; I usually nd that I underestimated last time
how bad it was!"[57]
Through his association with Frank Bridge, Brittens musical horizons expanded.[25] He discovered the music of
Debussy and Ravel which, Matthews writes, gave him a
model for an orchestral sound.[160] Bridge also led Britten to the music of Schoenberg and Berg; the latters death
in 1935 aected Britten deeply. A letter at that time
reveals his thoughts on the contemporary music scene:
The real musicians are so few & far between, aren't
they? Apart from the Bergs, Stravinskys, Schoenbergs
& Bridges one is a bit stumped for names, isn't one?"
adding, as an afterthought: Shostakovitch perhaps
possibly.[57] By this time Britten had developed a lasting
hostility towards the English pastoral school represented
by Vaughan Williams and Ireland, whose work he compared unfavourably with the brilliant folk-song arrangements of Percy Grainger"; Grainger became the inspiration of many of Brittens later folk arrangements.[161][162]
Britten was also impressed by Delius, and thought Brigg
Fair delicious when he heard it in 1931.[163] Also in that
year he heard Stravinskys The Rite of Spring, which he
found bewildering and terrifying, yet at the same time
incredibly marvellous and arresting. The same composers Symphony of Psalms, and Petrushka were lauded
in similar terms.[57] However, he and Stravinsky later
developed a mutual antipathy informed by jealousy and
mistrust.[164]
Besides his growing attachments to the works of 20th
century masters, Britten along with his contemporary
Michael Tippett was devoted to the English music of
the late 17th and early 18th centuries, in particular the
work of Purcell.[165] In dening his mission as a composer of opera, Britten wrote: One of my chief aims is
to try to restore to the musical setting of the English Lan-

10

3 MUSIC

guage a brilliance, freedom and vitality that have been

curiously rare since the death of Purcell.[166] Among
the closest of Brittens kindred composer spirits even
more so than Purcell was Mahler, whose Fourth Symphony Britten heard in September 1930. At that time
Mahlers music was little regarded and rarely played in
English concert halls.[167] Britten later wrote of how the
scoring of this work impressed him: "... entirely clean
and transparent ... the material was remarkable, and the
melodic shapes highly original, with such rhythmic and
harmonic tension from beginning to end.[39] 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.[168][n 14] Apart from Mahlers
general inuence on Brittens compositional style, the incorporation by Britten of popular tunes (as, for example,
in Death in Venice) is a direct inheritance from the older
composer.[170]

3.2

Operas

The Britten-Pears Foundation considers the composers

operas perhaps the most substantial and important part
of his compositional legacy.[171] Brittens operas are
rmly established in the international repertoire: according to Operabase, they are performed worldwide
more than those of any other composer born in the 20th
century,[172] and only Puccini and Richard Strauss come
ahead of him if the list is extended to all operas composed
after 1900.[173]

written for full-strength opera companies, to chamber operas for performance by small touring opera ensembles or
in churches and schools. In the large-scale category are
Peter Grimes (1945), Billy Budd (1951), Gloriana (1953),
A Midsummer Nights Dream (1960) and Death in Venice
(1973). Of the remaining operas, The Rape of Lucretia
(1946), Albert Herring (1947), The Little Sweep (1949)
and The Turn of the Screw (1954) were written for small
opera companies. Noyes Fludde (1958), Curlew River
(1964), The Burning Fiery Furnace (1966) and The Prodigal Son (1968) were for church performance, and the secular The Golden Vanity was intended to be performed in
schools. Owen Wingrave, written for television, was rst
presented live by the Royal Opera at Covent Garden in
1973, two years after its broadcast premiere.[57]
Music critics have frequently commented on the recurring
theme in Brittens operas from Peter Grimes onward of
the isolated individual at odds with a hostile society.[175]
The extent to which this reected Brittens perception
of himself, pacist and homosexual, in the England of
the 1930s, 40s and 50s is debated.[176] Another recurrent
theme is the corruption of innocence, most sharply seen
in The Turn of the Screw.[177]
Over the 28 years between Peter Grimes and Death in
Venice Brittens musical style changed, as he introduced
elements of atonalism though remaining essentially
a tonal composer and of eastern music, particularly
gamelan sounds but also eastern harmonies.[57] In A Midsummer Nights Dream the orchestral scoring varies to t
the nature of each set of characters: the bright, percussive sounds of harps, keyboards and percussion for the
fairy world, warm strings and wind for the pairs of lovers,
and lower woodwind and brass for the mechanicals.[178]
In Death in Venice Britten turns Tadzio and his family into silent dancers, accompanied by the colourful,
glittering sounds of tuned percussion to emphasize their
remoteness.[179]

The early operetta Paul Bunyan stands apart from Brittens later operatic works. Philip Brett, in Grove's article
on Britten, calls it a patronizing attempt by W H Auden
to evoke the spirit of a nation not his own in which Britten was a somewhat dazzled accomplice.[57] The American public liked it, but the critics did not,[n 15] and it fell
into neglect until interest revived near the end of the com- As early as 1948 the music analyst Hans Keller, summarising Brittens impact on 20th-century opera to that
posers life.[57]
date, compared his contribution to that of Mozart in the
18th century: Mozart may in some respects be regarded
as a founder (a 'second founder') of opera. The same can
already be said today, as far as the modern British perhaps not only British eld goes, of Britten.[180] In addition to his own original operas, Britten, together with
Imogen Holst, extensively revised Purcells Dido and Aeneas (1951) and The Fairy-Queen (1967). These realisations brought Purcell, who was then neglected, to a
wider public, but have themselves been neglected since
the dominance of the trend to authentic performance
practice.[181] His 1948 revision of The Beggars Opera
amounts to a wholesale recomposition, retaining the original melodies but giving them new, highly sophisticated
orchestral accompaniments.[182]
Peter Pears as the General in Owen Wingrave, 1971

Brittens subsequent operas range from large-scale works

3.4

Other vocal works

3.3

Song cycles

Throughout his career Britten was drawn to the song cycle form. In 1928, when he was 14, he composed an orchestral cycle, Quatre chansons franaises, setting words
by Victor Hugo and Paul Verlaine. Brett comments that
though the work is much inuenced by Wagner on the one
hand and French mannerisms on the other, the diatonic
nursery-like tune for the sad boy with the consumptive
mother in 'L'enfance' is entirely characteristic.[57] After
he came under Audens inuence Britten composed Our
Hunting Fathers (1936), ostensibly a protest against foxhunting but which also alludes allegorically to the contemporary political state of Europe. The work has never
been popular; in 1948 the critic Colin Mason lamented
its neglect and called it one of Brittens greatest works. In
Masons view the cycle is as exciting as Les Illuminations,
and oers many interesting and enjoyable foretastes of
the best moments of his later works.[183]

11
matic connection with any of the others.[183]
The Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943) sets
verses by a variety of poets, all on the theme of nighttime. Though Britten described the cycle as not important stu, but quite pleasant, I think, it was immediately
greeted as a masterpiece, and together with Peter Grimes
it established him as one of the leading composers of his
day.[28] Mason calls it a beautifully unied work on utterly dissimilar poems, held together by the most supercial but most eective, and therefore most suitable symphonic method. Some of the music is pure word-painting,
some of it mood-painting, of the subtlest kind.[185] Two
years later, after witnessing the horrors of Belsen, Britten
composed The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, a work whose
bleakness was not matched until his nal tenor and piano
cycle a quarter of a century later. Brittens technique in
this cycle ranges from atonality in the rst song to rm
tonality later, with a resolute B major chord at the climax
of Death, be not proud.[77]

Nocturne (1958) is the last of the orchestral cycles. As

in the Serenade, Britten set words by a range of poets, who here include Shakespeare, Coleridge, Keats,
Shelley, Tennyson and Wilfred Owen.[57] The whole cycle is darker in tone than the Serenade, with pre-echoes
of the War Requiem.[186] All the songs have subtly different orchestrations, with a prominent obbligato part for
a dierent instrument in each.[186] Among Brittens later
song cycles with piano accompaniment is the Songs and
Proverbs of William Blake, composed for the baritone
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. 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.[57] A Pushkin cycle, The Poets Echo
(1965), was written for Galina Vishnevskaya, and shows
a more robust and extrovert side of the composer.[57]
Though written ostensibly in the tradition of European
song cycles, it draws atmospherically on the polyphony
Poets whose words Britten set included (clockwise from top l)
of south-east Asian music.[28] Who Are These Children?
Blake, Rimbaud, Owen and Verlaine
(1969), setting 12 verses by William Soutar, is among
the grimmest of Brittens cycles. After he could no longer
The rst of Brittens song cycles to gain widespread pop- play the piano, Britten composed a cycle of Robert Burns
ularity was Les Illuminations (1940), for high voice (orig- settings, A Birthday Hansel (1976), for voice and harp.[57]
inally soprano, later more often sung by tenors)[n 16] with
string orchestra accompaniment, setting words by Arthur
Rimbaud. Brittens music reects the eroticism in Rim- 3.4 Other vocal works
bauds poems; Copland commented of the section Antique that he did not know how Britten dared to write the Nicholas Maw said of Brittens vocal music: His feeling
melody.[57] Matthews judges the piece the crowning mas- for poetry (not only English) and the inexions of lanterpiece of Brittens early years.[184] By the time of Brit- guage make him, I think, the greatest musical realizer
tens next cycle, Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo (1942) for of English.[117] One of the best-known works in which
tenor and piano, Pears had become his partner and muse; Britten set poetry was the War Requiem (1962). It inin Matthewss phrase, Britten wrote the cycle as his dec- tersperses the Latin requiem mass, sung by soprano and
laration of love for Peter.[184] It too nds the sensuality chorus, with settings of works by the First World War
of the verses it sets, though in its structure it resembles poet Wilfred Owen, sung by tenor and baritone. At the
a conventional 19th-century song cycle. Mason draws a end the two elements are combined, as the last line of
distinction between this and Brittens earlier cycles, be- Owens Strange meeting mingles with the In paradisum
cause here each song is self-contained, and has no the- of the mass. Matthews describes the conclusion of the

12

3 MUSIC

work as a great wave of benediction [which] recalls the

end of the Sinfonia da Requiem, and its similar ebbing
away into the sea that symbolises both reconciliation and
death.[187] Other works for voices and orchestra include
the Missa Brevis and the Cantata academica (both 1959)
on religious themes, and the late cantata Phaedra (1975),
a story of fated love and death modelled on Handel's Italian cantatas.[188]
Smaller-scale works for accompanied voice include the
ve Canticles, composed between 1947 and 1974. They
are written for a variety of voices (tenor in all ve;
counter-tenor or alto in II and IV and baritone in IV)
and accompaniments (piano in I to IV, horn in III and
harp in V).[189] The rst is a setting of Francis Quarles's 17th century poem A Divine Rapture,[190] and
according to Britten was modelled on Purcells Divine
Hymns.[191] Matthews describes it as one of the composers most serene works, which ends in a mood of
untroubled happiness that would soon become rare in
Brittens music.[190] The second Canticle was written in
1952, between Billy Budd and Gloriana, on the theme
of Abraham's obedience to Divine Authority in the proffered sacrice of his son Isaac.[192] [n 17] Canticle III
from 1954 is a setting of Edith Sitwells wartime poem
Still Falls the Rain, composed just after The Turn of
the Screw with which it is structurally and stylistically
associated. The twelve-note cycle in the rst ve bars
of the piano part of the Canticle introduced a feature
that became thereafter a regular part of Brittens compositional technique.[194] The fourth Canticle, premiered
in 1971 is based on T. S. Eliot's poem Journey of the
Magi. It is musically close to The Burning Fiery Furnace
of 1966; Matthews refers to it as a companion piece
to the earlier work.[195] The nal Canticle was another
Eliot setting, his juvenile poem Death of Saint Narcissus. Although Britten had little idea of what the poem
was about,[196] the musicologist Arnold Whittall nds the
text almost frighteningly apt ... for a composer conscious
of his own sickness.[197] Matthews sees Narcissus as another gure from [Brittens] magic world of dreams and
ideal beauty.[198]

3.5

Orchestral works

ations, an aectionate tribute to Brittens teacher, range

from comic parodies of Italian operatic clichs and Viennese waltzes to a strutting march, reecting the rise
of militarism in Europe, and a Mahlerian funeral march;
the piece ends with an exuberant fugal nale.[199] The
Sinfonia moves from an opening Lacrymosa lled with
fear and lamentation to a erce Dies Irae and then to
a nal Requiem aeternam, described by the critic Herbert Glass as the most uneasy 'eternal rest' possible.[200]
Mason considers the Sinfonia a failure: less entertaining than usual, because its object is not principally to
entertain but to express symphonically. It fails because
it is neither picturesquely nor formally symphonic.[183]
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. The commentator Howard Posner observes that there is not a bar
in the interludes, no matter how beautiful, that is free
of foreboding.[201] The Young Persons Guide, based on
a theme by Purcell, showcases the orchestras individual sections and groups, and gained widespread popularity from the outset.[202][203] Christopher Headington calls
the work exuberant and uncomplicated music, scored
with clarity and vigour [that] ts well into Brittens oeuvre.[202] David Matthews calls it a brilliant educational
exercise.[203][n 18]
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. His
youthful jeux d'esprit the Simple Symphony (1934) is in
conventional symphonic structure, observing sonata form
and the traditional four-movement pattern, but of his mature works his Spring Symphony (1949) is more a song
cycle than a true symphony,[57] and the concertante Cello
Symphony (1963) is an attempt to balance the traditional
concerto and symphony. During its four movements the
Cello Symphony moves from a deeply pessimistic opening to a nale of radiant happiness rare for Britten by this
point.[205] The composer considered it the nest thing
I've written.[206]
The Piano Concerto (1938) was at rst criticised for being too light-hearted and virtuoso. In 1945 Britten revised it, replacing a skittish third movement with a more
sombre passacaglia that, in Matthewss view, gives the
work more depth, and makes the apparent triumph of the
nale more ambivalent.[207] The Violin Concerto (1940)
has virtuoso elements, but they are balanced by lyrical and
elegiac passages, undoubtedly reecting Brittens growing concern with the escalation of world hostilities.[208]
Neither concerto is among Brittens most popular works,
but in the 21st century the Violin Concerto has been performed more frequently than before, both in the concert
hall and on record.[208]

The Britten scholar Donald Mitchell has written, It is

easy, because of the scope, stature, and sheer volume of
the operas, and the wealth of vocal music of all kinds,
to pay insucient attention to the many works Britten
wrote in other, specically non-vocal genres.[28] Maw
said of Britten, He is one of the 20th centurys great orchestral composers ... His orchestration has an individuality, incisiveness and integration with the musical material only achieved by the greatest composers.[117] Among
Brittens best-known orchestral works are the Variations
on a Theme of Frank Bridge (1937), the Sinfonia da Requiem (1940), the Four Sea Interludes (1945) and The
Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra (1945). The Vari- Brittens incidental music for theatre, lm and radio,

3.7

Legacy

13

much of it unpublished, was the subject of an essay by

William Mann, published in 1952 in the rst detailed
critical assessment of Brittens music to that date.[209] Of
these pieces the music for a radio play, The Rescue, by
Edward Sackville-West, is praised by the musicologist
Lewis Foreman as of such stature and individual character as to be worth a regular place alongside [Brittens]
other dramatic scores.[210] Mann nds in this score preechoes of the second act of Billy Budd,[211] while Foreman observes that Britten appears to have made passing allusions to The Rescue in his nal opera, Death in
Venice.[210]

3.6

Chamber and instrumental works

Brittens close friendship with Rostropovich inspired the

Cello Sonata (1961) and three suites for solo cello (1964
71).[212] String quartets featured throughout Brittens
composing career, from a student work in 1928 to his
Third String Quartet (1975). The second Quartet, from
1945, was written in homage to Purcell; Mason considered it Brittens most important instrumental work to that
date.[185] Referring to this work, Keller writes of the ease
with which Britten, relatively early in his compositional
career, solves the modern sonata problem the achievement of symmetry and unity within an extended ternary
circle based on more than one subject. Keller likens the
innovatory skill of the Quartet to that of Walton's Viola
Concerto.[213] The third Quartet was Brittens last major
work; the critic Colin Anderson said of it in 2007, one
of Brittens greatest achievements, one with interesting
allusions to Bartk and Shostakovich, and written with
an economy that opens out a depth of emotion that can
be quite chilling.[214] The Gemini Variations (1965), for
ute, violin and piano duet, were based on a theme of
Zoltn Kodly and written as a virtuoso piece for the 13year-old Jeney twins, musical prodigies whom Britten had
met in Budapest in the previous year.[215] For Osian Ellis, Britten wrote the Suite for Harp (1969), which Joan
Chissell in The Times described as a little masterpiece
of concentrated fancy.[216]

3.7

Legacy

Brittens fellow-composers had divided views about him.

To Tippett he was simply the most musical person I have
ever met, with an incredible technical mastery;[217]
some contemporaries, however, were less eusive. In
Tippetts view Walton and others were convinced that
Britten and Pears were leaders of a homosexual conspiracy in music,[n 19] a belief Tippett dismisses as ridiculous,
inspired by jealousy at Brittens postwar successes.[219]
Leonard Bernstein considered Britten a man at odds with
the world, and said of his music: "[I]f you hear it, not
just listen to it supercially, you become aware of something very dark.[220] The tenor Robert Tear, who was
closely associated with Britten in the latter part of the

Snape Maltings concert hall, a main venue of the Aldeburgh Festival, founded by Britten, Pears and Crozier

composers career, made a similar point: There was a

great, huge abyss in his soul ... He got into the valley of
the shadow of death and couldn't get out.[221]
In the decade after Brittens death, his standing as a
composer in Britain was to some extent overshadowed
by that of the still-living Tippett.[222] The lm-maker
Tony Palmer, director of a 1979 TV documentary about
Britten,[223] thought that Tippetts temporary ascendancy
might have been a question of the two composers contrasting personalities: Tippett had more warmth and had
made fewer enemies. In any event this was a shortlived phenomenon; Tippett adherents such as the composer Robert Saxton soon rediscovered their enthusiasm
for Britten, whose audience steadily increased during the
nal years of the 20th century.[221] Britten has had few
imitators; Brett describes him as inimitable, possessed
of ... a voice and sound too dangerous to imitate.[57]
Nevertheless, after his death Britten was lauded by the
younger generation of English composers to whom, in
the words of Oliver Knussen, he became a phenomenal father-gure.[221] Brett believes that he aected every subsequent British composer to some extent: He is a
key gure in the growth of British musical culture in the
second half of the 20th century, and his eect on everything from opera to the revitalization of music education
is hard to overestimate.[57]
Whittall believes that one reason for Brittens enduring
popularity is the progressive conservatism of his music. He generally avoided the avant garde, and did not
challenge the conventions in the way that contemporaries
such as Tippett did.[224] Perhaps, says Brett, the tide that
swept away serialism, atonality and most forms of musical
modernism and brought in neo-Romanticism, minimalism and other modes of expression involved with tonality
carried with it renewed interest in composers who had
been out of step with the times.[57] Britten dened his
mission as a composer in very simple terms: composers
should aim at pleasing people today as seriously as we
can.[225]

14

HONOURS, AWARDS AND COMMEMORATIONS

Pianist and conductor

the rst recording of the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and

Strings, which has frequently been reissued, most recently
[229]
Britten, though a reluctant conductor and a nervous pi- on CD.
anist, was greatly sought after in both capacities.[226] The Brittens rst operatic recording was The Turn of the
piano accompanist Gerald Moore wrote in his memoirs Screw, made in January 1955 with the original English
about playing at all the main music festivals except for Opera Group forces. In 1957 he conducted The Prince
Aldeburgh, because as the presiding genius there is the of the Pagodas in an early stereo recording, supervised
greatest accompanist in the world, my services are not by Culshaw.[229] Deccas rst major commercial success
needed.[227][n 20] Brittens recital partnership with Pears with Britten came the following year, with Peter Grimes,
was his best-known collaboration, but he also accompa- which has, at 2013, never been out of the catalogues since
nied Kathleen Ferrier, Rostropovich, Dietrich Fischer- its rst release.[229] From 1958 Britten conducted Decca
Dieskau, James Bowman and John Shirley-Quirk, among recordings of many of his operas and vocal and orchestral
others.[229] Though usually too nervous to play piano so- works, including the Nocturne (1959), the Spring Symlos, Britten often performed piano duets with Cliord phony (1960) and the War Requiem (1963).[229] The last
Curzon or Richter, and chamber music with the Amadeus sold in unexpectedly large numbers for a classical set, and
Quartet.[229] The composers whose works, other than his thereafter Decca unstintingly made resources available to
own, he most often played were Mozart and Schubert; Culshaw and his successors for Britten recordings.[240]
the latter, in Murray Perahia's view, was Brittens greatest Sets followed of Albert Herring (1964), the Sinfonia
idol.[230] As a boy and young man, Britten had intensely da Requiem (1964) Curlew River (1965), A Midsumadmired Brahms, but his admiration waned to nothing, mer Nights Dream (1966), The Burning Fiery Furnace
and Brahms seldom featured in his repertory.[n 21]
(1967), Billy Budd (1967) and many of the other ma[229]
In 2013, to mark the anniversary of BritSingers and players admired Brittens conducting, and jor works.
tens
birth,
Decca
released a set of 65 CDs and one DVD,
David Webster rated it highly enough to oer him the
Benjamin
Britten
Complete Works.[n 25] Most of the
musical directorship of the Covent Garden Opera in
1952.[n 22] Britten declined; he was not condent of his recordings were from Deccas back catalogue, but in the
ability as a conductor and was reluctant to spend too much interests of comprehensiveness a substantial number of
time performing rather than composing.[234] As a conduc- tracks were licensed from 20 other companies including
[241]
tor, Brittens repertory included Purcell, Bach, Haydn, EMI, Virgin Classics, Naxos, Warner and NMC.
Mozart and Schubert, and occasional less characteristic choices including Schumann's Scenes from Goethes
Faust; Elgars The Dream of Gerontius and Introduction
and Allegro; Holst's Egdon Heath and short pieces by
Percy Grainger.[229][235]

Recordings

As a pianist and conductor in other composers music, Britten made many recordings for Decca. Among
his studio collaborations with Pears are sets of Schuberts Winterreise and Die schne Mllerin, Schumanns
Dichterliebe, and songs by Haydn, Mozart, Bridge, Ireland, Holst, Tippett and Richard Rodney Bennett.[229]
Other soloists whom Britten accompanied on record were
Ferrier, Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya. As a conductor he recorded a wide range of composers, from Purcell to Grainger. Among his best-known Decca recordings are Purcells The Fairy-Queen, Bachs Brandenburg
concertos, Cantata 151, Cantata 102 and St John Passion,
Elgars The Dream of Gerontius and Mozarts last two
symphonies.[229]

Britten, like Elgar and Walton before him, was signed

up by a major British recording company,[n 23] and performed a considerable proportion of his output on disc.
For the Decca Record Company he made some monaural
records in the 1940s and 1950s, followed, with the enthusiastic support of the Decca producer John Culshaw,
by numerous stereophonic versions of his works.[229] Cul6 Honours, awards and commemoshaw wrote, The happiest hours I have spent in any studio
were with Ben, for the basic reason that it did not seem
rations
that we were trying to make records or video tapes; we
were just trying to make music.[238][n 24]
State honours awarded to Britten included Companion of
In May 1943 Britten made his debut in the Decca studios, Honour (Britain) in 1953;[242] Commander of the Royal
accompanying Sophie Wyss in ve of his arrangements of Order of the Polar Star (Sweden) in 1962; the Order of
French folk songs. The following January he and Pears Merit (Britain) in 1965;[243] and a life peerage (Britain) in
recorded together, in Brittens arrangements of British July 1976.[123] He received honorary degrees and fellowfolk songs, and the following day, in duet with Curzon ships from 19 conservatories and universities in Europe
he recorded his Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca and America. His awards included the Hanseatic Goethe
and Mazurka elegiaca. In May 1944 he conducted the Prize (1961); the Aspen Award, Colorado (1964); the
Boyd Neel string orchestra, Dennis Brain and Pears in Royal Philharmonic Society's Gold Medal (1964); the

6.1

Centenary

15

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.
137 Cromwell Road blue plaque

Sibelius Prize (1965); the Mahler Medal (Bruckner and

Mahler Society of America, 1967); the Lonie Sonning
Music Prize (Denmark, 1968); the Ernst von Siemens
Prize (1974); and the Ravel Prize (1974).[244]

Walton composed Improvisations on an Impromptu of

Benjamin Britten, based on a theme from Brittens Piano Concerto.[253] Works commemorating Britten include Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten an orchestral
piece written in 1977 by Arvo Prt, and Sally Beamish's
Variations on a Theme of Benjamin Britten, based on the
second Sea Interlude from Peter Grimes; she composed
the work to mark Brittens centenary.[254] Alan Bennett
depicts Britten in a 2009 play The Habit of Art, set while
Britten is composing Death in Venice and centred on a ctional meeting between Britten and Auden. Britten was
played in the premiere production by Alex Jennings.[255]

Prizes for individual works included UNESCO's

International Rostrum of Composers 1961 (for A
Midsummer Nights Dream); and for the War Requiem
Grammy Awards 1963 Classical Album of the Year,
Best Classical Composition by a Contemporary Composer and Best Classical Performance Choral (Other
than Opera); the BRIT Awards 1977 Best Orchestral
Album of the past 25 years; and the Grammy Hall of 6.1 Centenary
Fame Award 1998.[245]
In September 2012, to mark the composers forthcoming
The Red House in Aldeburgh, where Britten and Pears centenary, the Britten-Pears Foundation launched Britlived and worked together from 1957 until Brittens death ten 100, a collaboration of leading organisations in the
in 1976, is now the home of the Britten-Pears Founda- performing arts, publishing, broadcasting, lm, academia
tion, established to promote their musical legacy.[246] In and heritage.[256] Among the events were the release of
Brittens centenary year his studio at the Red House was a feature lm Benjamin Britten Peace and Conict,[257]
restored to the way it was in the 1950s and opened to and a centenary exhibition at the British Library.[258] The
the public. The converted hayloft was designed and built Royal Mint issued a 50-pence piece, to mark the centeby H T Cadbury Brown in 1958 and was described by nary the rst time a composer has featured on a British
Britten as a magnicent work.[247] In June 2013 Dame coin.[259]
Janet Baker ocially opened the Britten-Pears archive in
Centenary performances of the War Requiem were given
a new building in the grounds of the Red House.[248]
at eighteen locations in Britain. Opera productions inA memorial stone to Britten was unveiled in the north cluded Owen Wingrave at Aldeburgh, Billy Budd at Glynchoir aisle of Westminster Abbey in 1978.[249] There are debourne, Death in Venice by English National Opera,
memorial plaques to him at three of his London homes: Gloriana by The Royal Opera, and Peter Grimes, Death
173 Cromwell Road, 45a St Johns Wood High Street,[250] in Venice and A Midsummer Nights Dream by Opera
and 8 Halliford Street in Islington.[251] In April 2013 Brit- North.[260] Peter Grimes was performed on the beach
ten was honoured by the Royal Mail in the UK, as one at Aldeburgh, opening the 2013 Aldeburgh Festival in
of ten people selected as subjects for the Great Britons June 2013, with Steuart Bedford conducting and singers
commemorative postage stamp issue.[252]
from the Chorus of Opera North and the Chorus of the
Tony Palmer made three documentary lms about Brit- Guildhall School of Music and Drama,[261] described by
ten: Benjamin Britten & his Festival (1967), A Time There The Guardian as a remarkable, and surely unrepeatable
Was (1979) and Nocturne (2013).[223]
achievement.[262]
Other creative artists have celebrated Britten. In 1970 Internationally, the anniversary was marked by perfor-

16

7 NOTES, REFERENCES AND SOURCES

mances of the War Requiem, Peter Grimes and other

works in four continents. In the US the centennial events
were described as coast to coast, with a Britten festival at Carnegie Hall, and performances at the New York
Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles
Opera.[263]

Notes, references and sources

Notes
[1] Brittens siblings were (Edith) Barbara (190282), Robert
Harry Marsh (Bobby, 190787), and (Charlotte) Elizabeth (Beth, 190989).[3]
[2] Britten later gave an example of the detailed skill instilled
in him by Bridge: I came up with a series of major sevenths on the violin. Bridge was against this, saying that
the instrument didn't vibrate properly with this interval: it
should be divided between two instruments.[27]
[3] When it came to leaving Greshams, Britten found it a
wrench, confessing: I am terribly sorry to leave such
boys as these. [...] I didn't think I should be so sorry to
leave.[32] In his later years, Britten helped secure a place
at the school for David Hemmings,[32]
[4] This academic mistrust of Brittens technical skills persisted. In 1994 the critic Derrick Puett wrote that in
the 1960s Britten was still regarded with suspicion on account of his technical expertise; Puett quoted remarks
by the Professor of Music at Oxford in the 1960s, Sir
Jack Westrup, to the eect that Britten was to be distrusted for his supercial eects, whereas Tippett was
considered awkward and technically unskilled but somehow authentic.[36]
[5] Britten later wrote about his youthful discovery of Mahler
that he had been told that the composer was long-winded
and formless ... a romantic self-indulgent, who was so infatuated with his ideas that he could never stop. Either he
couldn't score at all, or he could only score like Wagner,
using enormous orchestras with so much going on that you
couldn't hear anything clearly. Above all, he was not original. In other words, nothing for a young student!" Britten
judged, on the contrary, His inuence on contemporary
writing ... could only be benecial. His style is free from
excessive personal mannerisms, and his scores are models of how the modern virtuoso orchestra should be used,
nothing being left to chance and every note sounding.[39]
[6] Koussevitzkys generosity later extended to waiving his
rights to mount the rst production, allowing Britten and
his Sadlers Wells associates the chance to do so. The
operas rst performance under Koussevitzkys aegis was
at the Tanglewood Music Festival in 1947, conducted by
the young Leonard Bernstein.[67] Bernstein retained a love
of the work, and he conducted the orchestral Sea Interludes from the opera at his nal concert, given in Tanglewood in 1990, shortly before his death.[68]
[7] Sadlers Wells Theatre in Islington, London, was requisitioned by the government in 1942 as a refuge for people

made homeless by air-raids; the Sadlers Wells opera company toured the British provinces, returning to its home
base in June 1945.[71]
[8] Sullivan, Parry, Stanford, Elgar, Vaughan Williams,
Holst and Tippett were among the leading British composers of their time who held posts at conservatoires or
universities.[90] Those who, like Britten, were not known
for teaching included Delius[91] and Walton.[92]
[9] The critic Andrew Porter wrote at the time: The audience
naturally contained many people distinguished in political
and social spheres rather than noted for their appreciation
of twentieth-century music, and Gloriana was not well received at its rst hearing. The usual philistine charges
brought against it, as against so much contemporary music
('no tunes ugly, discordant sounds, and the rest), are beneath consideration. On the other hand, those who found
Gloriana ill-suited to the occasion may be allowed to have
some right on their side.[96]
[10] The principal law against homosexual acts was the
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, in which Section 11
made any kind of sexual activity between men illegal for
the rst time. It was not repealed until the passage of the
Sexual Oences Act 1967
[11] Some writers have supposed that Britten was earlier offered and had declined a knighthood,[124] but his name
is not included in the ocial list issued in 2012 by the
Cabinet Oce naming everyone (except those still living
at the time of publication) who had declined an honour
between 1950 and 1999.[125]
[12] The writer John Bridcut sees signicance in evidence that
Britten mentally regarded himself as perpetually 13 years
old. Bridcut views this as manifest both in the Letts diaries Britten bought and used well into his adult life, in
which he wrote several statistics relevant to himself when
that age,[144] and in his remark to Imogen Holst, I'm still
thirteen.[145]
[13] The journalist Martin Kettle wrote in 2012 that although
there is no evidence of wrongful conduct, it is important that allegations of paedophilia be openly discussed,
both to avoid covering up criminal behaviour and to avoid
oversimplifying the complexity of Brittens sexuality and
creativity.[150]
[14] In 1938, Britten attended what was only the second British
performance of Mahlers Eighth Symphony, the Symphony of a Thousand, with Sir Henry Wood and the BBC
Symphony Orchestra. Britten declared himself tremendously impressed by the music, though he thought the
performance execrable.[169]
[15] The critics outrage at the presumption of Auden and Britten in writing an American work mirrored the hostile response of London critics six years earlier when Jerome
Kern and Oscar Hammerstein presented Three Sisters, a
musical set in England.[174]
[16] Matthews comments that the work is so much more sensuous when sung by the soprano voice for which the songs
were conceived.[184]

17

[17] The piece was much admired by Tippett as one of the

wonderful things in Brittens music, an opinion with
which Britten apparently concurred.[193]

[10] Matthews, p. 3

[18] The piece is formally sub-titled Variations and Fugue on

a Theme of Henry Purcell"; Britten greatly disliked the
BBCs practice of referring to the work by the grander
sub-title in preference to his preferred title.[204]

[12] Blyth, p. 25

[19] Steuart Wilson, a retired singer who held a succession of

posts as a musical administrator, launched an outspoken
campaign in 1955 against homosexuality in British music and was quoted as saying: The inuence of perverts
in the world of music has grown beyond all measure. If
it is not curbed soon, Covent Garden and other precious
musical heritages could suer irreparable harm.[218]

[11] Carpenter, p. 6

[13] Blyth, p. 25; and Powell, p. 16

[14] Carpenter, pp. 67
[15] White, p. 2
[16] Carpenter pp. 8 and 13
[17] Powell, p. 5
[18] Carpenter, pp. 89

[20] In 2006 Gramophone magazine invited eminent presentday accompanists to name their professionals professional": the joint winners were Britten and Moore.[228]

[19] Carpenter, p. 10

[21] Britten once said, Its not bad Brahms I mind, its good
Brahms I can't stand.[231]

[21] Britten, Benjamin. Notes to Decca LP LW 5162 (1956),

reproduced in Britten (1991), p. 9

[22] So writes John Bridcut,[232] but Websters biographer,

Montague Haltrecht, recounts that no formal oer of
the post was made to Britten. According to Haltrecht,
Lord Harewood and other Covent Garden board members
wanted Britten for the post, but Webster believed that it
was above all as a composer that Britten could bring glory
to Covent Garden.[233]
[23] Elgar was an exclusive HMV artist;[236] Walton, after a
brief spell with Decca, made most of his recordings for
Columbia.[237]

[20] Carpenter, p. 13

[22] David Matthews, Britten, pp. 8-9; accessed 3 September

2013
[23] Lara Feigel, Alexandra Harris eds, Modernism on Sea: Art
and Culture at the British Seaside; accessed 3 September
2013
[24] Carpenter, pp. 1314
[25] Matthews, p. 8
[26] Carpenter, p. 16

[24] Imogen Holst remembered Brittens recording sessions

dierently: He used to nd recording sessions more exhausting than anything else, and dreaded the days when he
had to stop writing a new opera in order to record the one
before last.[239]
[25] The set comprises all the composers works with opus
numbers and all works commercially recorded by 2013
(many fragments and juvenilia have not been published
or recorded). The set includes Brittens folksong arrangements, but excludes his Purcell realisations.[241]

References

[27] Quoted in Carpenter, p. 17

[28] Mitchell, Donald. Britten, (Edward) Benjamin, Baron
Britten (19131976)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition,
January 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2103 (subscription or
UK public library membership required)
[29] Carpenter, p. 18 and Oliver, p. 23
[30] Bridcut (2006): p. 16
[31] Matthews, p. 11

[1] Matthews, p. 1

[32] Bridcut (2006): p. 17

[2] Kennedy, p. 2

[33] Matthews, p. 14

[3] Evans (2009), p. 513

[34] Craggs, p. 4

[4] Powell, p. 3

[35] Carpenter, p. 35

[5] Carpenter, pp. 4 and 7; Kildea, p. 4; Matthews, p. 2; and

Powell pp. 1011

[36] Puett, Derrick. Benjamin Britten: A Biography by

Humphrey Carpenter, Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, Volume 26, No 2, Summer
1994, pp. 395396 (subscription required)

[6] Blyth, p. 36
[7] Kildea, p. 4; and Matthews, p. 3
[8] Carpenter, pp. 45

[37] Cole, Hugo. Review Britten, Tempo, New Series, No

78, Autumn 1966, pp. 3132 (subscription required)

[9] Powell, p. 7

[38] Carpenter, p. 40

18

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[39] Britten, Benjamin. On Behalf of Gustav Mahler,

Tempo, New Series, No 120, March 1977, pp. 1415,
(subscription required)

[69] Matthews, p. 79

[40] White, p. 1516

[71] Gilbert pp. 78, 83 and 98

[41] Carpenter, pp. 48 and 53

[72] Gilbert, p. 98

[42] Oliver, p. 217

[43] Carpenter, pp. 6263

[73] See, for example, Sadlers Wells Opera 'Peter Grimes",

The Times, 8 June 1945, p. 6, and Glock, William. Music, The Observer, 10 June 1945, p. 2

[44] Powell, p. 92

[74] Banks, pp. xvixviii.

[45] Kennedy, p.17

[75] Blyth, p. 79

[46] Carpenter, pp. 104, 105, 148 and 166

[76] Gilbert, p. 107

[47] Matthews, p, 34
[48] White, Eric Walter. Britten in the Theatre: A Provisional Catalogue, Tempo, New Series, No 107, December 1973, pp. 210
[49] Matthews, p. 184

[70] Matthews, p. 66

[77] Matthews, p. 80
[78] Carpenter, p. 228 and Matthews, p. 80
[79] Matthews, pp. 8081

[50] Powell, p. 127; and Matthews, p. 38

[80] Instruments of the Orchestra, British Film Institute, accessed 24 May 2013

[51] Matthews, pp. 3839

[81] Matthews, p. 81

[52] Powell, p. 130

[53] Carpenter, p. 112

[82] Hope-Wallace, Philip. Opera at Glyndebourne, The

Manchester Guardian, 15 July 1946, p. 3; and Carpenter, pp. 242243

[54] Matthews, p. 40

[83] Carpenter, p. 243

[55] Matthews, p. 46

[84] Wood, Anne. English Opera Group, The Times, 12 July

1947, p. 5

[56] Robinson, Suzanne. An English Composer Sees America: Benjamin Britten and the North American Press,
193942, American Music, Volume 15, No 3 (Autumn
1997), pp. 321351
[57] Brett, Philip, et al. Britten, Benjamin, Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 12 May 2013 (subscription required)

[85] Headington (1993), pp. 149150; and Matthews, p. 89

[86] Headington (1993), p. 151
[87] Matthews, pp. 9293
[88] Hall, George. Festival Overtures: Britten in Bloom,
Opera Volume 64.4, April 2013, pp. 436438

[58] Headington (1993), pp. 8788

[59] Headington (1993), pp. 9192
[60] Evans (1979), p. 57
[61] Headington (1993), pp. 9899
[62] Kennedy, p. 31
[63] Kennedy, pp. 213, 216 and 256
[64] Brogan, Hugh. W. H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, and Paul
Bunyan, Journal of American Studies, Volume 32, No 2,
August 1998, pp. 281282 (subscription required)
[65] Carpenter, pp. 150151
[66] White, p. 35
[67] Powell, p. 252
[68] Rockwell, John. The Last Days of Leonard Bernstein,
The New York Times, 16 October 1990

[89] Mason, Colin.

Benjamin Brittens 'Dream'", The
Guardian, 11 June 1960. p. 5; and Greeneld, Edward.
Brittens Death in Venice, The Guardian, 18 June 1973,
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[90] Wright, David. The South Kensington Music Schools
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Late Nineteenth Century, Journal of the Royal Musical
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pp. 236282 (Sullivan, Parry and Stanford); McVeagh,
Diana. Elgar, Edward, Grove Music Online, (Elgar);
Graebe, Martin. Gustav Holst, Songs of the West, and
the English Folk Song Movement, Folk Music Journal,
Volume 10.1 , 2011, pp. 541 (Vaughan Williams and
Holst); and Clarke, David. Tippett, Sir Michael", Grove
Music Online, Oxford University Press. All (subscription
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[91] Heseltine, Philip. Some Notes on Delius and His Music,
The Musical Times, March 1915, pp. 137142 (subscription required)

19

[92] Kirkbride, Jo. William Walton (19021983), Two [117] Maxwell Davies, Peter, Nicholas Maw and others.
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[93] Ballets de Paris de Roland Petit 'Le Rve de Lonor'",
[118] Evans, Peter. Brittens Television Opera, The Musical
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[94] Carpenter, p. 214
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[95] Blom, Eric. Brittens 'Billy Budd'", The Observer, 2 De- [119] Piper, p. 15
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5; and Porter, Andrew. Brittens Billy Budd", Music &
[121] Oliver, p. 206
Letters, Volume 33, No. 2, April 1952, pp. 111118
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[96] Porter, Andrew. Brittens Gloriana, Music & Letters, Vol.
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required)
[124]
[97] Matthews, p. 107
[125]
[98] Greeneld, Edward. Gloriana at Sadlers Wells, The
Guardian, 22 October 1966, p. 6

Carpenter, p, 596
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of rejected honours, BBC, 26 January 2012, accessed 24
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[99] Christiansen, Rupert. Gloriana: Brittens problem

opera, The Daily Telegraph 18 June 2013; and Church, [126] Headington (1996), p. 143
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[100] Mason, Colin. Brittens New Opera at Venice Festival: [128] Matthews, p. 154
Welcome for 'The Turn of the Screw'", The Manchester [129] Matthews, p. 155
Guardian, 15 September 1954, p. 5
[130] Powers, Alan. Reynolds Stone: A Centenary Tribute,
[101] Operas, Britten, Operabase, accessed 25 May 2013
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[102] Weeks, pp. 239240

[131] Headington (1993), p. 277

[103] Carpenter, p. 334

[132] Memorial service: Lord Britten, OM, CH, The Times,

11 March 1977, p. 20

[104] Carpenter, p. 335

[105] Britten (2008), p. 388
[106] Britten (2008), p. 441

[133] Ford, p. 77; and Begbie and Guthrie, pp. 192193

[134] Carpenter, p. 113
[135] Carpenter, p. 114

[107] Carpenter, pp. 434435 and 478480

[136] Carpenter, p. 486
[108] Mann, William, Queen opens concert hall, The Times,
3 June 1967, p. 7; and Greeneld, Edward, Inaugural [137] Carpenter, p. 654
Concert at the Maltings, Snape, The Guardian, 3 June
[138] Matthews, pp. 34; and Keates, Jonathan. It was boy1967, p. 7
ishness Britten loved as much as boys, The Sunday Telegraph, 11 June 2006
[109] Greeneld, Edward. Queen at new Maltings concert,
The Guardian, 6 June 1970, p. 1

[139] Carpenter, p. 302

[110] Mann, William. Shostakovich special, The Times, 15 [140] Kildea, p. 202
June 1970, p. 10
[141] Carpenter, pp.
[111] Matthews, p. 124
(Harewood).

384385 (Mackerras) and 444445

[112] Carpenter, p. 482

[142] Blyth, p. 139

[113] Matthews, pp. 124125 and 127

[143] Matthews, p. 96

[114] Ray, p. 155

[144] Bridcut (2006), pp. 12

[115] Matthews, p. 127

[145] Bridcut (2006), p. 8

[116] Blyth, p. 151

[146] Bridcut (2006), p. 3

20

7 NOTES, REFERENCES AND SOURCES

[147] Bridcut (2006), plate 13; and Carpenter, pp. 356358 and [172] List of top composers, Operabase, accessed 28 April
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2011.
[148] Carpenter, p. 164

[173] Britten-Pears Foundation press release, accessed 28 April

2011.

[149] Bridcut (2006), p. 6

[174] Baneld, p. 224
[150] Kettle, Martin. Why we must talk about Brittens boys,
[175] ODNB; Greeneld, Edward. Inspired genius oblivious to
The Guardian, 21 November 2012
musical fashion, The Guardian, 6 December 1976, p. 7;
Seymour, pp. 19, 77, 116 and 216,
[151] Toronyi-Lalic, Igor. Paul Kildeas erudite biography
underplays Benjamin Brittens dark side, The Daily
Telegraph, 11 February 2013; and Morrison, Richard. [176] Kildea, pp. 23; Seymour, pp. 1920; and Powell, p. 233
Crossing the line between aection and abuse, The [177] The Turn of the Screw, Britten-Pears Foundation, acTimes, 9 May 2006 (subscription required)
cessed 26 June 2013
[152] Carpenter, pp. 356358; Miller, Lucasta. Ben and [178] A Midsummer Nights Dream Britten-Pears Foundahis boys: Brittens obsession with adolescents is sensition, accessed 26 June 2013
tively handled, The Guardian, 1 July 2006; and Keates,
Jonathan. It was boyishness Britten loved as much as [179] Death in Venice, Britten-Pears Foundation, accessed 26
boys, The Sunday Telegraph, 11 June 2006
June 2013
[153] Kildea, pp. 532535

[180] Keller, Hans. Britten and Mozart, Music and Letters,

January 1948, pp. 1730 (subscription required)

[154] Petch, Michael, Opera, April 2013, p. 414.

[181] Matthews, p. 102
[155] Higgins, Charlotte. Benjamin Britten syphilis 'extremely
unlikely', says cardiologist,The Guardian, 22 January [182] Matthews, p. 91
2013
[183] Mason, Colin. Benjamin Britten, The Musical Times,
Vol. 89, No. 1261 (March 1948), pp. 7375 (subscrip[156] Kildea, Paul. The evidence does show Britten died from
tion required)
syphilis, The Guardian, 30 January 2013
[157] Morrison, Richard. The temptation to settle old scores [184] Matthews, p. 56
A centenary biography of Britten should not be judged [185] Mason, Colin. Benjamin Britten (continued)", The Musiby just one sensational speculation the rest is fascinating
cal Times, Vol. 89, No. 1262 (April 1948), pp. 107110
and convincing, The Times, 4 February 2013
(subscription required)
[158] Matthews, p. 4

[186] Matthews, pp. 120121

[159] Schafer, p. 119

[187] Matthews, pp. 125127

[160] Matthews, p. 9

[188] Matthews, pp. 146 and 185188

[161] Matthews, p. 144

[162] Whittall, pp. 273274

[189] Canticle I, Canticle II, Canticle III, Canticle IV,

and Canticle V, Britten-Pears Foundation, accessed 30
June 2013

[163] Carpenter, p. 39

[190] Matthews, pp. 9899

[164] Paul Kildea, Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Cen- [191]
tury, p. 78
[192]
[165] Whittall, p. 104
[193]
[166] Brett, p. 125
[194]
[167] Matthews, pp. 2023
[195]
[168] Letter to Henry Boys, 29 June 1937, quoted in Matthews,
[196]
p. 22

Schafer, p. 121
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Whittall, pp. 162164
Matthews, p. 140
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[197] Whittall, p. 272

[169] Kennedy, Michael. Mahlers mass following, The Spectator, 13 January 2010
[198] Matthews, p. 153
[170] Whittall, p. 203

[199] Richards, Denby (1977). Notes to Chandos CD 8376

[171] Operas, Britten-Pears Foundation, accessed 26 June [200] Glass, Herbert. Sinfonia da Requiem, Los Angeles
2013
Philharmonic, accessed 26 June 2013

21

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Bridcut (2012), p. 173

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1934): Authenticity and Performance Practice, Early
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[237] Greeneld, Edward, The Music of William Walton,

Gramophone, October 1994, p. 92
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Hawkes, accessed 30 June 2013
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(19131976)", Gramophone, February 1977, p. 21
[209] Mann, pp. 295311
[210] Foreman, Lewis. Benjamin Britten and 'The Rescue', [239] Holst, Imogen. Working for Benjamin Britten, The Musical Times, March 1977, pp. 202204 and 206 (subscripTempo, September 1988, pp. 2833 (subscription retion required)
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[211] Mann, p. 303

[240] Culshaw, p. 339

[212] Matthews, pp. 188189

[241] Decca announces rst Britten complete works, Britten100, Britten-Pears Foundation, 16 May 2013

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Tempo, March 1947, pp. 69 (subscription required)
[242] The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39863. p. 2976.
1 June 1953. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
[214] Anderson, Colin, Britten 'Phantasy Quartet'; String
Quartet No. 3; Bliss Oboe Quintet, Fanfare, March [243] The London Gazette: no. 43610. p. . 26 March 1965.
2007, pp. 8788.
Retrieved 20 October 2015.
[215] Carpenter, p. 448

[244] Britten, Baron, Who Was Who, A & C Black, online

edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, ac[216] Chissell, Joan. Little Masterpieces, The Times, 26 June
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[220] Bernstein, in the TV documentary A Time There Was, [247] Benjamin Britten studio restored, The Daily Telegraph,
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[222] Steinberg, p. 643

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22

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7 NOTES, REFERENCES AND SOURCES

Britten, Benjamin (2008). Reed, Philip; Cooke,
Mervyn; Mitchell, Donald Mitchell, eds. Letters
from a Life: The Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten, Volume IV, 19521957. London: The Boydell
Press. ISBN 9781843833826.
Carpenter, Humphrey (1992). Benjamin Britten:
A Biography. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN
0571143245.

[259] Royal Mint unveils commemorative Britten coin

Gramophone, 1 September 2013

Craggs, Stewart R (2002). Benjamin Britten: A Biobibliography. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 031329531X.

[260] Britten events worldwide, Britten100, Britten-Pears

Foundation, accessed 15 June 2013

Culshaw, John (1981). Putting the Record Straight.

London: Secker & Warburg. ISBN 0436118025.

[261] Grimes on the Beach, aldeburgh.co.uk, accessed 17

June 2013; and In pictures: Brittens Peter Grimes on
Aldeburgh beach, BBC, 18 June

Evans, John (2009). Journeying Boy: The Diaries

of the Young Benjamin Britten 19281938. London:
Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571238831.

[262] Clement, Andrew. Grimes on the Beach, The Guardian,

19 June 2013

Evans, Peter (1979). The Music of Benjamin Britten.

London: J M Dent. ISBN 0460043501.

[263] Tommasini, Anthony. " Britten at 100: An Originals

Legacy, The New York Times, 7 June 2013

Ford, Andrew (2011). Illegal Harmonies: Music

in the Modern Age (third ed.). Collingwood, Vic:
Black. ISBN 1863955283.

Sources
Baneld, Stephen; Georey Holden Block (2006).
Jerome Kern. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300138342.
Banks, Paul (2000). The Making of Peter Grimes:
Essays and Studies. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.
ISBN 0851157912.
Begbie, Jeremy; Steven R Guthrie (2011). Resonant
Witness: Conversations between Music and Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: W B Eerdmans.
ISBN 0802862772.
Brett, Philip (ed.) (1983). Benjamin Britten: Peter
Grimes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 9780521297165.
Bridcut, John (2006). Brittens Children. London:
Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571228399.
Bridcut, John (2012). The Essential Britten. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571290736.
Britten, Benjamin (1991). Donald Mitchell, ed.
Letters From a Life: The Selected Letters of Benjamin
Britten, Volume I, 19231939. London: Faber and
Faber. ISBN 057115221X.
Britten, Benjamin (2004). Donald Mitchell, ed.
Letters from a Life: The Selected Letters of Benjamin
Britten, Volume III, 19461951. London: Faber and
Faber. ISBN 057122282X.

Gilbert, Susie (2009). Opera for Everybody. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571224938.
Graham, Colin (1989) [1979]. Staging rst productions. In David Herbert. The Operas of Benjamin Britten. London: Herbert Press. ISBN
1871569087.
Haltrecht, Montague (1975). The Quiet Showman:
Sir David Webster and the Royal Opera House. London: Collins. ISBN 0002111632.
Headington, Christopher (1996). Britten. Illustrated
Lives of the Great Composers. London: Omnibus
Press. ISBN 0711948127.
Headington, Christopher (1993) [1992]. Peter
Pears: A Biography. London: Faber and Faber.
ISBN 0571170722.
Kennedy, Michael (1983). Britten. London: J M
Dent. ISBN 0460022016.
Kildea, Paul (2013). Benjamin Britten: A life in the
twentieth century. London: Penguin Books. ISBN
9781846142338.
Mann, William (1952). The Incidental Music. In
Mitchell, Donald and Keller, Hans (eds). Benjamin
Britten: A Commentary on his Works from a Group
of Specialists. Rockli. OCLC 602843346.
Matthews, David (2013). Britten. London: Haus
Publishing. ISBN 1908323388.

23
Moore, Gerald (1974) [1962]. Am I Too Loud?
Memoirs of an Accompanist. Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN 0140024808.
Oliver, Michael (1996). Benjamin Britten. London:
Phaidon Press. ISBN 0714832774.
Powell, Neil (2013). Britten: A Life for Music. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0091931231.
Piper, Myfanwy (1989) [1979]. Writing for Britten. In David Herbert. The Operas of Benjamin Britten. London: Herbert Press. ISBN
1871569087.
Ray, John (2000). The Night Blitz: 19401941.
London: Cassell. ISBN 030435676X.
Schafer, Murray (1963). British Composers in
Interview. London: Faber and Faber. OCLC
460298065.
Seymour, Claire Karen (2007). The operas of Benjamin Britten Expression and Evasion. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. ISBN 184383314X.
Steinberg, Michael (1998). The Symphony A Listeners Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0195061772.
Tippett, Michael (1994). Those Twentieth Century
Blues. London: Pimlico Books. ISBN 0712660593.
Weeks, Jerey (1989). Sex, Politics and Society.
London: Longman. ISBN 0582483336.
White, Eric Walker (1954). Benjamin Britten: His
Life and Operas. New York: Boosey & Hawkes.
ISBN 0520016793.
Whittall, Arnold (1982). The Music of Britten and
Tippett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0521235235.

External links
Britten-Pears Foundation
Britten 100 (Britten-Pears Foundations website for
the Britten centenary)
Aldeburgh Music (The organisation founded by
Benjamin Britten in 1948, originally as Aldeburgh
Festival: the living legacy of Brittens vision for a
festival and creative campus)
Britten material in the BBC Radio 3 archives
Gresham College: Britten and Bridge, lecture
and performance investigating the relation between
the two composers, 5 February 2008 (available for
download as text, audio or video le)

Britten Thematic Catalogue, Britten Project

Boosey & Hawkes (Brittens publishers up to 1963):
biographies, work lists and descriptions, recordings,
performance schedules
Faber Music (Publisher set up by Britten for his
works after 1963): biography, work lists, recordings, performance schedules
MusicWeb International. Benjamin Britten (1913
1976), by Rob Barnett
National Portrait Gallery. Benjamin Britten, Baron
Britten (19131976), 109 portraits.

24

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Benjamin Britten Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Britten?oldid=699378568 Contributors: AxelBoldt, Tarquin, Andre Engels, Danny, Deb, William Avery, Heron, Camembert, Rbrwr, Nevilley, Edward, Michael Hardy, Ellywa, Cferrero, Darkwind,
, GCarty, John K, EdH, Norwikian, Hashar, JerryW, I am not Albert Herring, Hyacinth, Cleduc, Paul-L~enwiki, Wilus,
Bcorr, Proteus, Bearcat, Robbot, Pigsonthewing, Moriori, Dumbledad, Postdlf, Mervyn, Wally, UtherSRG, JackofOz, Tobias Bergemann, Snobot, Stirling Newberry, Nunh-huh, Everyking, Henry Flower, Nick04, Guanaco, Thomas Ludwig, Solipsist, RcktScientistX,
Fys, DavidBrooks, Antandrus, MarkSweep, SimonArlott, Pmanderson, Marcus2, Imjustmatthew, Trevor MacInnis, D6, Haiduc, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Avriette, Guanabot, Jesper Laisen, YUL89YYZ, Autiger, Bender235, Jnestorius, Neatnate, CanisRufus, Smalljim,
Anon customer, Schissel, Alansohn, Ben davison, Philip Cross, M7, Craigy144, Lord Pistachio, Riana, Ciceronl, Chrisjohnson, Snowolf,
Ksnow, Saga City, Mtiedemann, Cburnett, Dave.Dunford, SteinbDJ, PullUpYourSocks, Pcpcpc, Nuno Tavares, Angr, FeanorStar7, Uris,
Dionyziz, CPES, Emerson7, Graham87, Cuchullain, Kbdank71, Rjwilmsi, Wahoove, Koavf, , Missmarple, TBHecht,
Nomet, FlaBot, RobertG, JdforresterBot, Draktorn, Flowerparty, DrGeoduck, Fervidfrogger, Mallocks, Gareth E. Kegg, Chobot, Jaraalbe,
DVdm, Melodia, RussBot, ReubenB, Insouciance, Stephen Burnett, Grafen, Ruhrsch, Tony1, Htonl, Gadget850, David Underdown,
Wknight94, Crisco 1492, Homagetocatalonia, Nikkimaria, Banana04131, JRawle, Kubra, Stevouk, Pstermeister, Tim1965, Ranthlee,
Auroranorth, Finell, AndyJones, Bluewave, SmackBot, Espresso Addict, David Kernow, KnowledgeOfSelf, Delldot, Ilikeeatingwaes,
HeartofaDog, IstvanWolf, Ga, Ian Rose, Gilliam, Oscarthecat, Chris the speller, Thumperward, Kleinzach, FordPrefect42, Schi, VivaVerdi, Colonies Chris, Daddy Kindsoul, Philipvanlidth, OrphanBot, Onorem, Snowmanradio, Rrburke, Makemi, Thunk, GuillaumeTell,
Rob~enwiki, Smerus, Le baron, Tim riley, Ceoil, Ohconfucius, Tony Sandel, Michael David, SashatoBot, Dono, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, John, Salmonforgey, Timclare, Michael Bednarek, Ckatz, N1h1l, Voceditenore, 16@r, JHunterJ, BillFlis, Slakr, Mr Stephen, Waggers,
Neddyseagoon, Hu12, Martynelmy, Burto88, Iridescent, Shingleton, Beno1000, Courcelles, Wspencer11, Cmulrooney, JohnCD, Nunquam
Dormio, WeggeBot, Cydebot, Cahk, Valodzka, Ladyribena, Gogo Dodo, DavidRF, DumbBOT, Nabokov, Ssilvers, Goldenlane, Epbr123,
MarkBuckles, Edwardx, Massimo Macconi, PaulVIF, AntiVandalBot, Fatidiot1234, Yonmei, Sean Parmelee, DShamen, P.D., JAnDbot, MER-C, Dsp13, Dybryd, Rothorpe, Bencherlite, VoABot II, Xn4, Jerome Kohl, Tedickey, Cgingold, Cpl Syx, Mokgamen, Kraxler,
MartinBot, Chrisrick, CommonsDelinker, Pharaoh of the Wizards, DrKay, W2bh, Mind meal, Cpsa, Gadsby West, Sallyrob, DJRafe,
Memestream, Oakshade, Ipigott, AntiSpamBot, Vstrad7, Fortepiano, Vully, Robertgreer, Sunderland06, Cometstyles, Ja 62, Straw Cat,
Roaring phoenix, Caspian blue, VolkovBot, Aletucker, Sjones23, Martinevans123, TXiKiBoT, Krzysiulek~enwiki, Vipinhari, Technopat,
DevAlt, Mathwhiz 29, Anonymous Dissident, Clevelander96, PatrickWaters, Don4of4, Feudonym, David Couch, ClassicMusic, Sealman,
AlleborgoBot, Gustav von Humpelschmumpel, RyanDavid12, Scarian, Steorra, Karaboom, Composer information, Rjecoat, Ted007, Oda
Mari, Kate bassett, KoshVorlon, Radavenport, OwenParamore, Oniscoid, Stfg, Almufasa, James5521, Hihitman, Budhen, Jamesfranklingresham, Lethesl, ClueBot, Sdurrant, Impossible triangle, The Thing That Should Not Be, All Hallows Wraith, Bellperc, Niceguyedc,
Moonbada, Solar-Wind, Altris77, DragonBot, Stepshep, Excirial, Richard92t, Rufer, Hrdinsk, Promethean, Tnxman307, Brianboulton,
Kaiba, 6afraidof7, Light show, GFHandel, Kontakion, Wally Tharg, Avoided, SilvonenBot, NellieBly, Mm40, Edgepedia, Mountdrayton, Bridgetfox, HexaChord, Totanilla, Janinho, Addbot, Proofreader77, Experimental Hobo Inltration Droid, Willking1979, Guoguo12,
Rafhabbaniya, Ronhjones, CanadianLinuxUser, Download, Vega2, Redheylin, Favonian, Stefania.saccani, Rogersansom, Lightbot, Shallaq, Legobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Themfromspace, Ptbotgourou, Amirobot, DisillusionedBitterAndKnackered, Classicalgenius, TheFinalSay, Visitchief192, Szajci, AnomieBOT, Andrewrp, Galoubet, Fanoftheworld, Edcerv, Flewis, Dendlai, Citation bot, Frankenpuppy,
LilHelpa, MauritsBot, Xqbot, Tall-timothy, DanielS-78, The Land Surveyor, XxAznEmoxX, Anna Frodesiak, Christybullen321, Mudkipslol, Majoo027, BoomerAB, FrescoBot, Anna Roy, Crog62, LeMiklos, Atlantia, Gerbilschool, Scarabocchio, RedBot, AKD157, Gerda
Arendt, Melthamman, DumbeLLirnia, Lotje, Sebmelmoth, LilyKitty, SeoMac, Cassianto, Schwede66, Jerd10, MacGilvennehy, Diannaa,
Xavidxohnson, Tbhotch, Allbysun, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Whisky drinker, LorenzoFiorilini, Elton Bunny, Lidiader, GoingBatty, RA0808,
RenamedUser01302013, Wikipelli, K6ka, Mz7, Yiosie2356, Fdsal;fjh, EricWesBrown, Donner60, BENAMBROSE, Pun, RayneVanDunem, Rettinghaus, ClueBot NG, Mikemkuk, Gareth Grith-Jones, Jasonbook99, Movses-bot, Poshseagull, Jlg80, Widr, Antiqueight,
RakiSykes, Jorgenev, Casmeltzer, Zachariass, AlterBerg, SchroCat, Delcoursolutions, CityOfSilver, Poiuytrewqqwertyuioppp, Graham11,
MusikAnimal, Budlea11, Toccata quarta, Jfhutson, Nimahafezieh, Ninmacer20, ChrisGualtieri, Khazar2, EuroCarGT, Marosc9, Magicstars, Pgboultbee, Dexbot, Knuand, Shoelstadlen, VIAFbot, SFK2, Graham AM2012, Erikwithuhk, MaybeMaybeMaybe, Aoulou, Melvyn
Elphee, VoxelBot, Beniaminobritten, Nonsenseferret, Tooteruse, George8211, Maccleseldnath, Muhammadusman2323, Mal y pense, Beyondallmeaning, Scriptorscorpionis, Swagggy987654, Hel-hama, XXWeAreLegionXx, Raj5835, Allznmb, Monkbot, Cashmanian, Amortias, Narky Blert, Dlodir95, Nutshell9, Kevache123, Sashashea, Whatwehavehereisfailuretocommunicate, Hellohelloeverybodyimback,
Datbubblegumdoe, Re5x, Opera Madonna, Srbernadette and Anonymous: 367

9.2

Images

File:AudenVanVechten1939.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/AudenVanVechten1939.jpg License:

Public domain Contributors: Van Vechten Collection at Library of Congress Original artist: Carl Van Vechten
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Contributors:
Snowdance.jpg Original artist: Snowdance.jpg: Rick Dikeman
File:Benjamin_Britten,_London_Records_1968_publicity_photo_for_Wikipedia.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/3/30/Benjamin_Britten%2C_London_Records_1968_publicity_photo_for_Wikipedia.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: eBay listing of publicity photograph from London Records, which marketed records to the United States. Original artist:
According to information on the photograph, it was originally taken by photographer Hans Wild for High Fidelity magazine (published in
the United States).
File:Benjamin_Britten_137_Cromwell_Road_blue_plaque.jpg Source:
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9.3

Content license

25

File:Benjamin_Britten_memorial_window_..._-_geograph.org.uk_-_1131630.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/

commons/4/43/Benjamin_Britten_memorial_window_..._-_geograph.org.uk_-_1131630.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: From
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License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: RIA Novosti archive, image #25562, http://visualrian.ru/ru/site/gallery/#25562 35 mm lm / 35
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's le

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9.3

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