Benjamin Britten

(1913-1976)

Benjamin Britten is an English composer, pianist, conductor, public man and outstanding representative of modern English music.

He was born in 1913. Benjamin had a great interest in music. His earliest exposure to music came from his mother, who was an amateur singer. He played the piano at seven, composed an oratorio at nine and had written a symphony, quartets and other works by the time he was sixteen.

B. Britten studied at the Royal College of music for three years. At the age of 19 he began to work for a small film company as a musician and wrote music not for large orchestras, but for six or seven instruments.

The composer first attracted attention in 1934 with the music he composed for the International Society for Contemporary Music. During World War II he moved to the United States. He spent four years in the United States and Canada. The composer wrote the opera Peter Grimes (1944-45), which marked the greatest turning point in his career. It was successfully produced in the USA and abroad. This opera placed Britten among the major composers of England.

The next several decades he wrote a dozen operas, several of which—Albert Billy Budd (1951), The Turn of the Screw (1954), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1960), Death in Venice (1973)—became instant and permanent foundation of the repertoire. He also continued to produce much vocal, orchestral, and chamber music, including Songs and Proverbs of William Blake (1965), the three Cello Suites (1961-1964) and the Cello Symphony (1963), written for Mstislav Rostropovich, and the Third String Quartet (1975).

B. Britten wrote in many different styles-sometime even in the same work – and always with a brilliant technique. He was especially successful in writing realistic music.

Among his compositions are “Let’s make an Opera”, composed especially for young people, “Beggar’s Opera”, “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Billy Budd”, “War Requiem” and “The Turn of the Screw”. He wrote a piece of music called “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”. It can be taken as a handbook on all the instrument of the orchestra. A teacher can use this music to teach children how to understand each of the instruments in an orchestra. Benjamin Britten’s name was so popular that the title of an article in the “Morning Star” on one of his birthdays was “Great Britten”. He died in 1976.

He often appeared as conductor and pianist in England and abroad.

He died in 1976 at the age of 63 years.

Benjamin Britten must be accepted as the most outstanding English composer working in the mid-20th century. He won a significant international reputation while remaining English in inspiration.

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