Benjamin Britten

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Biography

Born: 1913   Died: 1976   Country: England   Period: 20th Century
With the arrival of Benjamin Britten on the international music scene, many felt that English music gained its greatest genius since Purcell. A composer of wide-ranging talents, Britten found in the human voice an especial source of inspiration, an affinity that resulted in a remarkable body of work, ranging from operas like Peter Grimes (1944-1945) and Death in Venice (1973) to song cycles like the Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings (1943) to Read more the massive choral work War Requiem (1961). He also produced much music for orchestra and chamber ensembles, including symphonies, concerti, and chamber and solo works. Britten's father was a prosperous oral surgeon in the town of Lowestoft, Suffolk; his mother was a leader in the local choral society. When Benjamin's musical aptitude became evident, the family engaged composer Frank Bridge to supervise his musical education. Bridge's tutelage was one of the formative and lasting influences on Britten's compositional development; Britten eventually paid tribute to his teacher in his Op. 10, the Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge (1937). Britten's formal training also included studies at the Royal College of Music (1930-1933).

Upon graduation from the RCM, Britten obtained a position scoring documentaries (on prosaic themes like "Sorting Office") for the Royal Post Office film unit. Working on a tight budget, he learned how to extract the maximum variety of color and musical effectiveness from the smallest combinations of instruments, producing dozens of such scores from 1935 to 1938. He rapidly emerged as the most promising British composer of his generation and entered into collaborative relationships that exerted a profound influence upon his creative life. Among the most important of his professional associates were literary figures like W.H. Auden, and later, E.M. Forster. None, however, played as central a role in Britten's life as the tenor Peter Pears, who was Britten's closest intimate, both personally and professionally, from the late '30s to the composer's death. Pears' voice inspired a number of Britten's vocal cycles and opera roles, and the two often joined forces in song recitals and, from 1948, in the organization and administration of the Aldeburgh Festival.

A steadfast pacifist, Britten left England in 1939 as war loomed over Europe. He spent four years in the United States and Canada, his compositional pace barely slackening, as evidenced by the production of works like the Sinfonia da Requiem (1940), the song cycle Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo (1940), and his first effort for the stage, Paul Bunyan (1940-1941). Eventually, the poetry of George Crabbe drew Britten back to England. With a Koussevitzky Commission backing him, the composer wrote the enormously successful opera Peter Grimes (1944-45), which marked the greatest turning point in his career. His fame secure, Britten over the next several decades wrote a dozen more operas, several of which -- Albert Herring (1947), Billy Budd (1951), The Turn of the Screw (1954), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1960), Death in Venice (1973) -- became instant and permanent fixtures 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).

Britten suffered a stroke during heart surgery in 1971, which resulted in something of a slowdown in his creative activities. Nonetheless, he continued to compose until his death in 1976, by which time he was recognized as one of the principal musical figures of the twentieth century. Read less

Featured Benjamin Britten CDs & DVDs:

English Anthems From Oxford - Byrd To Britten / Harper, Magdalen College Choir
English Anthems From Oxford - Byrd To Britten / Harper, Magdalen College Choir
Release Date: 04/05/2011   Label: Musical Concepts  
Catalog: 1137   Number of Discs: 1
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Britten, Schubert / Tritschler, Burnside
Britten, Schubert / Tritschler, Burnside
Release Date: 02/03/2015   Label: Wigmore Hall Live  
Catalog: 71   Number of Discs: 1
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Britten, Barber: Piano Concertos; Nocturnes / Elizabeth Joy Roe
Britten, Barber: Piano Concertos; Nocturnes / Elizabeth Joy Roe
Release Date: 03/17/2015   Label: Decca  
Catalog: 002284102   Number of Discs: 1
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Britten: Piano & Violin Concertos / Servadei, Azizian
Britten: Piano & Violin Concertos / Servadei, Azizian
Release Date: 03/13/2012   Label: Musical Concepts  
Catalog: 1152   Number of Discs: 1
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Britten: Frank Bridge Variations; Bartók, Hartmann
Britten: Frank Bridge Variations; Bartók, Hartmann
Release Date: 07/19/2005   Label: Pentatone  
Catalog: 5186056   Number of Discs: 1
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Composition Type: Choral

Work: War Requiem, Op. 66

Browse 1-25 of 35 Available Recordings
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  • 1.
    Seiji Ozawa - The Philips Years: Original Jacket Collection [50-CD Set]
    Seiji Ozawa - The Philips Years: Original Jacket Collection [50-CD Set]
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 002185602 Release Date: 11/18/2014   Number of Discs: 50
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Béla Bartók,  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Hector Berlioz  ... 
    Performer:  Mariko Kobayashi,  Everett Firth,  Hiroshi Arimori,  Sawako Yasue  ... 
    Conductor:  Seiji Ozawa
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Boston Symphony Orchestra,  Saito Kinen Orchestra,  Ambrosian Singers  ... 
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    CD: $188.99
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  • 2.
    Britten: War Requiem / Davies, Britten, Pears, Harper, Fischer-Diseskau
    Britten: War Requiem / Davies, Britten, Pears, Harper, Fischer-Diseskau
    Label: Testament   Catalog: 1490 Release Date: 12/10/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Heather Harper,  Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,  Peter Pears
    Conductor:  Benjamin Britten,  Meredith Davies
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Melos Ensemble London,  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,  Coventry Cathedral Choir
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  • 3.
    Britten: War Requiem / Netrebko, Bostridge, Hampson, Pappano
    Britten: War Requiem / Netrebko, Bostridge, Hampson, Pappano
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 15448 Release Date: 11/19/2013   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Anna Netrebko,  Ian Bostridge,  Thomas Hampson
    Conductor:  Antonio Pappano
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Santa Cecilia Academy Rome Chorus,  Santa Cecilia Academy Rome Orchestra
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  • 4.
    Britten: War Requiem / Magee, Padmore, Gerhaher, Jansons
    Britten: War Requiem / Magee, Padmore, Gerhaher, Jansons
    Label: Br Klassik   Catalog: 900120 Release Date: 10/29/2013   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Mark Padmore,  Emily Magee,  Max Hanft,  Christian Gerhaher
    Conductor:  Mariss Jansons
    CD: $37.49
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  • 5.
    Britten: War Requiem / Gritton, Ainsley, Mccreesh
    Britten: War Requiem / Gritton, Ainsley, Mccreesh
    Label: Signum U.k.   Catalog: 340 Release Date: 09/24/2013   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Susan Gritton,  Christopher Maltman,  John Mark Ainsley
    Conductor:  Paul McCreesh
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Gabrieli Consort,  Gabrieli Players
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  • 6.
    Britten: War Requiem / Britten, Vishnevskaya, Pears [2-CDs & Blu-ray Audio]
    Britten: War Requiem / Britten, Vishnevskaya, Pears [2-CDs & Blu-ray Audio]
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 001895702 Release Date: 09/17/2013   Number of Discs: 3
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Galina Vishnevskaya,  Peter Pears,  Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,  Simon Preston
    Conductor:  Benjamin Britten
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra,  London Symphony Chorus,  Highgate School Chorus  ... 
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  • 7.
    Britten: War Requiem / Ancerl, Czech Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonic Choir
    Britten: War Requiem / Ancerl, Czech Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonic Choir
    Label: Supraphon   Catalog: 4135 Release Date: 07/30/2013   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Nadezda Kniplova,  Gerald English,  John Cameron,  Milada Subrtova  ... 
    Conductor:  Karel Ancerl
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Czech Philharmonic Orchestra,  Prague Philharmonic Choir
    CD: $24.99
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  • 8.
    Britten: Choral Works & Operas for Children
    Britten: Choral Works & Operas for Children
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 151562 Release Date: 06/04/2013   Number of Discs: 7
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Thomas Allen,  Robert Tear,  Elisabeth Söderström,  Mark Blatchly  ... 
    Conductor:  Simon Rattle,  André Previn,  Sir David Willcocks,  Sir Philip Ledger  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,  Christ Church Cathedral Choir Men and Boys,  City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus  ... 
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  • 9.
    Helmuth Rilling - Personal Selection
    Helmuth Rilling - Personal Selection
    Label: Hänssler Classic   Catalog: 98008 Release Date: 04/30/2013   Number of Discs: 10
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  César Franck,  Benjamin Britten,  Franz Joseph Haydn  ... 
    Performer:  Juliane Banse,  Ingeborg Danz,  James Taylor,  Andreas Schmidt  ... 
    Conductor:  Helmuth Rilling
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Stuttgart Bach Collegium,  Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart,  Aurelius Boys Choir of Calw  ... 
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  • 10.
    Britten: War Requiem / Masur, New York Philharmonic
    Britten: War Requiem / Masur, New York Philharmonic
    Label: Apex   Catalog: 2564659416 Release Date: 10/30/2012   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Carol Vaness,  Jerry Hadley,  Thomas Hampson
    Conductor:  Kurt Masur
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  American Boychoir,  Westminster Symphonic Choir,  New York Philharmonic
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  • 11.
    Britten: War Requiem / Nelsons, City Of Birmingham Symphony
    Britten: War Requiem / Nelsons, City Of Birmingham Symphony
    Label: Arthaus Musik   Catalog: 101659 Release Date: 10/30/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Erin Wall,  Mark Padmore,  Hanno Müller-Brachmann
    Conductor:  Andris Nelsons
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,  City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
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  • 12.
    Britten: War Requiem / Nelsons, City Of Birmingham Symphony [blu-ray]
    Britten: War Requiem / Nelsons, City Of Birmingham Symphony [blu-ray]
    Label: Arthaus Musik   Catalog: 108070 Release Date: 10/30/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Erin Wall,  Mark Padmore,  Hanno Müller-Brachmann
    Conductor:  Andris Nelsons
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,  City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
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  • 13.
    Britten: War Requiem / Jaap Van Zweden, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
    Britten: War Requiem / Jaap Van Zweden, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
    Label: Challenge   Catalog: 72388 Release Date: 09/11/2012   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Evelina Dobraceva,  Anthony Dean Griffey,  Mark Stone
    Conductor:  Reinbert De Leeuw,  Jaap Van Zweden
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra,  Netherlands Radio Choir
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  • 14.
    Britten: War Requiem / Noseda, Bostridge, Keenlyside, Cvilak
    Britten: War Requiem / Noseda, Bostridge, Keenlyside, Cvilak
    Label: Lso Live   Catalog: 719 Release Date: 05/08/2012   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Simon Keenlyside,  Ian Bostridge,  Sabina Cvilak
    Conductor:  Gianandrea Noseda
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra,  Eltham College Choir
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  • 15.
    Magnificat - 500 Years Of Choral Masterworks [50-CD Set]
    Magnificat - 500 Years Of Choral Masterworks [50-CD Set]
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 001664502 Release Date: 04/10/2012   Number of Discs: 50
    Composer:  Gregorio Allegri,  Antonio Lotti,  Orlando de Lassus,  Josquin Des Préz  ... 
    Performer:  Patrick Russill,  Marinella Pennicchi,  Michael Chance,  Mark Tucker  ... 
    Conductor:  Harry Christophers,  Paul McCreesh,  Stephen Cleobury,  Edward Wickham  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  The Sixteen,  Gabrieli Consort,  Gabrieli Players  ... 
    CD: $179.99
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  • 16.
    The Decca Sound [50-CD Set]
    The Decca Sound [50-CD Set]
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 001619902 Release Date: 11/15/2011   Number of Discs: 50
    Composer:  Manuel de Falla,  Claude Debussy,  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,  Enrique Granados  ... 
    Performer:  Teresa Berganza,  Alfredo Campoli,  Vladimir Ashkenazy,  Cecilia Bartoli  ... 
    Conductor:  Ernest Ansermet,  Ataulfo Argenta,  Anatole Fistoulari,  Vladimir Ashkenazy  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Suisse Romande Orchestra,  London Symphony Orchestra,  Philharmonia Orchestra  ... 
    CD: $175.49
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  • 17.
    Benjamin Britten: War Requiem
    Benjamin Britten: War Requiem
    Label: Helicon   Catalog: 9645 Release Date: 11/08/2011   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Edith Wiens,  Nigel Robson,  Håkan Hagegård
    Conductor:  Kurt Masur
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,  Czech Philharmonic Choir,  Ankor Children's Chorus
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  • 18.
    Britten: War Requiem / Gardiner, Orgonasova, Rolfe Johnson, Skovhus
    Britten: War Requiem / Gardiner, Orgonasova, Rolfe Johnson, Skovhus
    Label: Deutsche Grammophon   Catalog: 437801 Release Date: 03/10/2011   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Jürgen Lamke,  Boje Skovhus,  Anthony Rolfe Johnson,  Luba Orgonasova
    Conductor:  John Eliot Gardiner
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Tölz Boys Choir,  North German Radio Symphony Orchestra,  North German Radio Chorus Hamburg  ... 
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  • 19.
    Britten: Les Illuminations; War Requiem; Berg: Sieben Fruhe Lieder
    Britten: Les Illuminations; War Requiem; Berg: Sieben Fruhe Lieder
    Label: Cascavelle   Catalog: 3125 Release Date: 07/13/2010   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten,  Alban Berg
    Performer:  Suzanne Danco,  Thomas Hemsley,  Peter Pears,  Heather Harper  ... 
    Conductor:  Ernest Ansermet
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Suisse Romande Orchestra,  Suisse Romande Radio Chorus,  Pro Arte Chorus
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  • 20.
    Simon Rattle Edition - Benjamin Britten
    Simon Rattle Edition - Benjamin Britten
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 42743 Release Date: 03/24/2009   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Robert Tear,  Peter Donohoe,  Willard White,  Alison Hargan  ... 
    Conductor:  Simon Rattle
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,  Christ Church Cathedral Choir Men and Boys  ... 
    CD: $34.99
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  • 21.
    Benjamin Britten - The Collector's Edition
    Benjamin Britten - The Collector's Edition
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 17526 Release Date: 11/24/2008   Number of Discs: 37
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Andrew Mead,  Jill Gomez,  Norman Bailey,  Penelope Walker  ... 
    Conductor:  Reginald Goodall,  Richard Hickox,  Daniel Harding,  Bernard Haitink  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Trinity Boys Choir,  City of London Sinfonia,  Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus  ... 
    CD: $120.99
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  • 22.
    Bach, Handel, Haydn, Britten: Arias From Cantatas & Oratorios / Schreier
    Bach, Handel, Haydn, Britten: Arias From Cantatas & Oratorios / Schreier
    Label: Berlin Classics   Catalog: 1328 Release Date: 07/08/2008   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  George Frideric Handel,  Franz Joseph Haydn,  Benjamin Britten,  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Peter Schreier
    CD: $17.99
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  • 23.
    Britten: War Requiem / Rilling, Dasch, Taylor, Gerhaher, Et Al
    Britten: War Requiem / Rilling, Dasch, Taylor, Gerhaher, Et Al
    Label: Hänssler Classic   Catalog: 98507 Release Date: 06/10/2008   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Annette Dasch,  James Taylor,  Christian Gerhaher
    Conductor:  Helmuth Rilling
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Stuttgart Festival Ensemble,  Aurelius Boys Choir of Calw
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  • 24.
    Britten: War Requiem / Curtin, Di Virgilio, Krause, Leinsdorf
    Britten: War Requiem / Curtin, Di Virgilio, Krause, Leinsdorf
    Label: Video Artists International   Catalog: 4429 Release Date: 08/28/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Nicholas Di Virgilio,  Phyllis Curtin,  Tom Krause
    Conductor:  Erich Leinsdorf
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Boston Symphony Orchestra,  Pro Musica Chorus,  Columbus Boychoir
    DVD: $28.99
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  • 25.
    Britten: War Requiem / Masur, Lpo, Et Al
    Britten: War Requiem / Masur, Lpo, Et Al
    Label: Lpo   Catalog: 10 Release Date: 07/25/2006   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Benjamin Britten
    Performer:  Anthony Dean Griffey,  Gerald Finley,  Christine Brewer
    Conductor:  Neville Creed,  Kurt Masur,  Simon Toyne
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Philharmonic Choir,  London Philharmonic Orchestra,  Tiffin School Boys Chorus
    CD: $24.99
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