Elizabeth Perez 1
Dr. Elizabeth Swanson
Music of The 21st Century
5 April 2017
THE MUSIC of BENJAMIN BRITTEN The tradition of classical music performance became stronger during the post war years. Audiences grew, government support in many nations rose, schools of music expanded. (Hanning) Benjamin Britten was one of composers of its time during the influential experiences of the World War and modernist ideals. While most composers focused on music of contemplation Benjamin was mainly concerned about communication. …show more content…
By this time the composer had an opera in mind based on a poem by George Crabbe, an East Anglian poet of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century. ( “The Opera Lover's Companion” 57- 58 ) He was given a grant by Koussevisky to continue writing this opera, which became an opera of a large scale work later known as Peter Grimes. ( Hanning ) Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes as mentioned above was one of his most famous pieces written and following the second world was. This proved that momentum of the post war though tragic was greatly needed by the arts environment. It was the first opera he ever composed. Peter Grimes premiered in London of 1945 with Pears, his companion in the leading role. Peter Grimes was not only based on a poem but about a man , a fisherman named Tom Brown who lived in Aldeburgh in the middle of the eighteenth century. Peter Grimes a liberetto, described Peter as a man rooted to his native landscape whose apprentice died at sea. It tells a story of a man at the odds with the community in which he lives , an outsider who alienates his neighbor s by his mistreatment of his young apprentices. The opera starts with an orchestral interlude portraying a storm, in Act 1 Scene 2 , Grimes enters to await his new apprentice and experiences the hostility of the villagers. ( “The Opera Lovers Companion” 59-60) Grimes happened to have become one of Britten's breakthroughs in his career as a composer, with its influence of composers before him, Wagner and Verdi. Musically Britten's focus was solely on the voice with its recurring motifs, which is shown
Dr. Elizabeth Swanson
Music of The 21st Century
5 April 2017
THE MUSIC of BENJAMIN BRITTEN The tradition of classical music performance became stronger during the post war years. Audiences grew, government support in many nations rose, schools of music expanded. (Hanning) Benjamin Britten was one of composers of its time during the influential experiences of the World War and modernist ideals. While most composers focused on music of contemplation Benjamin was mainly concerned about communication. …show more content…
By this time the composer had an opera in mind based on a poem by George Crabbe, an East Anglian poet of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century. ( “The Opera Lover's Companion” 57- 58 ) He was given a grant by Koussevisky to continue writing this opera, which became an opera of a large scale work later known as Peter Grimes. ( Hanning ) Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes as mentioned above was one of his most famous pieces written and following the second world was. This proved that momentum of the post war though tragic was greatly needed by the arts environment. It was the first opera he ever composed. Peter Grimes premiered in London of 1945 with Pears, his companion in the leading role. Peter Grimes was not only based on a poem but about a man , a fisherman named Tom Brown who lived in Aldeburgh in the middle of the eighteenth century. Peter Grimes a liberetto, described Peter as a man rooted to his native landscape whose apprentice died at sea. It tells a story of a man at the odds with the community in which he lives , an outsider who alienates his neighbor s by his mistreatment of his young apprentices. The opera starts with an orchestral interlude portraying a storm, in Act 1 Scene 2 , Grimes enters to await his new apprentice and experiences the hostility of the villagers. ( “The Opera Lovers Companion” 59-60) Grimes happened to have become one of Britten's breakthroughs in his career as a composer, with its influence of composers before him, Wagner and Verdi. Musically Britten's focus was solely on the voice with its recurring motifs, which is shown