Benjamin Britten | Benjamin Britten

At a glance:

Author: Humphrey Carpenter
First Published: 1992
Type of Work: Biography
Time of Work: 1913-1976
Setting: England
Principal Characters: Benjamin Britten, Robert Britten, Edith Britten, Peter Pears, W. H. Auden
Genres: Nonfiction, Biography
Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Family or family life, Gay men, Homosexuality or homosexuals, England or English people, Films, movies, or motion pictures, Composers, Pacifism, Orchestras or orchestral music, Conducting or conductors, Choirs or choral music
Locales: England

His mother was determined to make him the fourth B, the twentieth century representative in the pantheon of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Indeed, his very birthday fell on the feast day of the patron saint of music and seemed to confirm Edward Benjamin Britten’s destiny. Born in Lowestoft in East Anglia on November 22, 1913, Beni, as his family called him, was shaped for musical greatness.

Humphrey Carpenter’s biography of Benjamin Britten carefully documents the composer’s journey from a pampered childhood, through a rather miserable public school career; struggles...

Benjamin Britten | Benjamin Britten

At a glance:

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