Britten

UPDATED SECOND EDITION p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 12.1px; font: 10.5px Helvetica; color: #211d1e} p.p3 {margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 12.1px; font: 10.5px Helvetica; color: #211d1e} p.p4 {margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 10.6px; font: 10.5px Helvetica; color: #211d1e} span.s1 {font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000} Benjamin Britten is celebrated as one of the outstanding British composers of the twentieth century. He shot to international fame with his operas, performed by his own English Opera Group, and a series of extraordinary instrumental works. He lived almost all his life in Suffolk, the sea providing a constant stimulus for his life and work. Britten's music won a central place in the repertoire and the affection of generations of listeners. It was, above all, the ardent pursuit of innocence and beauty in his music that places it apart from that of his contemporaries and contributes to its unique quality. David Matthews brings to this short biography his special insight as a fellow composer, former assistant, and friend of Britten to produce a sensitive, authoritative account.