Includes bibliographical references (pages 367-385) and index.
Contents:
Epilogue : Britten's legacy / Arnold Whittall. Part I : The Britten circle(s). Early mentors : The Bridges, the Auden Set, and the Mayers of Long Island / Arnold Whittall ; Peter Pears / Justin Vickers ; The open secret / Nicholas Clark ; Britten's circle / Lucy Walker ; The making of Britten : Imogen Holst, Rosamund Strode, and Colin Matthews / Christopher M. Scheer ; Britten's publishers as advance and rear guard / Philip Reed -- Part II : British musical life. Composing in England / Eric Saylor ; Britten and film / Mervyn Cooke ; Britten and the radio / Alison Garnham ; Recording a musical experience : Britten's works on record and television / Danielle Ward-Griffin ; Music critics and the press / Vicki P. Stroeher and Philip Reed ; Britten and English opera : Myths and a (chequered) history / Mervyn Cooke ; Festival culture in the British Isles / Justin Vickers ; Concert life in Britain / Philip Reed ; Benjamin Britten and folk song / Julian Onderdonk ; Educating the nation : Britten's music for young people / Kate Guthrie -- Part III : Britten and other composers. The compositional context : Creating a voice / Christopher Mark ; Responding to a British musical past / Michael Burden ; Britten and the English musical Renaissance / Alain Frogley ; Responding to the Continent / Arved Ashby ; An English tradition? / Christopher Mark ; 'An exciting time with all the Russians' : Anglo-Soviet musical contacts / Cameron Pyke ; The avant-garde / Philip Rupprecht -- Part IV : Wordsmiths, designers, and performers. W.H. Auden / Vicki P. Stroeher ; Eric Crozier / Justin Vickers ; Two librettists : Montagu Slater and Ronald Duncan / Ian Patterson ; The wise, queer heart of Englishness : E. M. Forster / Hanna Rochlitz ; William Plomer's poetics of exile at home / Kevin Salfen ; 'Don't colour them, the music will do that' : Myfanwy Piper and Britten's marriage of words and music / Frances Spalding ; Designing and dancing Britten / Lucy Walker and Kevin Salfen ; Pears as illuminator, interpreter, and inspiration / Justin Vickers ; Britten's singers / Roger Vignoles ; Britten's performers : Those most 'instrumental' / Thomas Schuttenhelm -- Part V : British sociocultural, religious, and political life. English and British national identity in the arts / Irene Morra ; The place within : Britten's landscapes / Charlotte de Mille ; Monarchy, royalty, and arts patronage / Matthias Range ; Literary leanings / Nicholas Clark ; Faith, spirituality, and the Church / Margaret Lane ; The politics of the closet / J. P. E. Harper-Scott ; Communism, socialism, and pacifism in British politics : From the 1930s to the Second World War / Joanna Bullivant -- Epilogue : Britten's legacy / Arnold Whittall.
Summary:
"Benjamin Britten, pianist, conductor, educator, composer of a wide range of music from large-scale operas and choral works to string quartets and songs, is acknowledged as a pivotal figure in mid-twentieth-century Britain. This volume explores the contexts for his multi-faceted career and his engagement with his contemporaries in music, art, literature, and film, British musical institutions, royal and governmental entities, and the church, as well as his ground-breaking projects, philosophical and ideological tenets. The book is thematically structured in five parts: Britten's relationships with Peter Pears, his close friends, mentors, and colleagues; musical life in Britain; his interactions with previous and contemporary generations of composers; his professional work with choreographers, librettists, stage designers, and directors; and his socio-cultural, religious, and political environment. The chapters shed light on the many opportunities and challenges of post-war British musical life that shaped Britten's creative output."--Dust jacket.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.