Essential Britten: A Pocket Guide for the Britten Centenary

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Faber & Faber, Oct 30, 2012 - Music - 448 pages

John Bridcut, author of the acclaimed 'Britten's Children', has included significant fresh material which will make the book indispensable for Britten aficionados as well as for those who are discovering the composer's music for the first time. This guide is all about finding a way into Britten's music.
An outline of planned chapters:
- The Top Ten Britten pieces
- Critics' First Impressions
- Britten's Life
- Britten and Pears
- The things they said
- The Music (stage works, choral works, songs, chamber music, orchestral works)
- The Interpreters of Britten's work
- Britten as Performer
- The Impresario (English Opera Group and Aldeburgh Festival)
- Britten's Homes
- Trivial Pursuits

 

Contents

Britten on screen
1
The things Britten said about Britten
4
Britten in print
8
Round Britten Quiz II
8
Britten the centenarian
8
The life of Britten
9
Britten year by year
10
Brittens favourites
47
Instrumentalist 21 Singer 22 Pianist
36
The influences on Britten
4
Brittens private passions
5
Brittens music library
11
Brittens record collection
The full works
Choral music
Church music

Brittens prizes
10
Round Britten Quiz III
11
Brittens cars
13
Britten at home
14
Brittens pets
15
Brittens ailments
16
Britten not at home
16
Britten the Court and two Queens
18
The artistry of Britten
28
Conductor
35
Chamber music
Solo instrumental music
Songs
Stage works
Incidental music
Round Britten Quiz IV
Index of Brittens Music
About the Author
Copyright

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About the author (2012)

John Bridcut is a documentary director for British television. He has had a lifelong enthusiasm for English music , and his feature-length films Britten's Children (2004) and The Passions of Vaughan Williams (2008) have won awards. He is currently working on a portrait of Elgar. In 2008, he produced a BBC documentary Charles at 60: The Passionate Prince for the BBC. Other film subjects have included Rudolf Nureyev, Roald Dahl, Hillary Clinton, and the Queen. His two books, Britten's Children and The Faber Pocket Guide to Britten, were published in 2006 and 2010 respectively.

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