
Letters from a Life Vol 2: 1939-45
Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Letters from a Life Vol 2: 1939-45
Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten
About this book
In May 1939 Britten and Pears disembarked at Montreal at the start of their American visit, which was to be a period of intense musical activity and new personal relationships. At the same time, the relationship between Britten and Pears deepened into a partnership that was to endure for almost forty years.
Their absence from England during the first years of the war led to sharp public comment and controversy, much of it documented here. On their return from America in 1942, hostility to their pacifist convictions and to their homosexuality resurfaced. Prejudice and subterfuge even affected the première of
Peter Grimes in 1945, although it could not prevent the opera from being an unprecedented success.
The letters in this second volume from the years 1939 to 1945 are among the most fascinating of the correspondence, and - supplemented by the editors' detailed commentary and by exhaustive contemporary documentation - offer a unique insight into American history, politics and culture during the Second World War.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Letter 224
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Table of Contents
- INDEX OF CORRESPONDENTS
- LIST OF PLATES
- KEY TO BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS
- The American Years 1939–1942
- The Return to England: The Writing of Grimes 1942–1945
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- ADDENDA
- Index to Volumes One and Two : INDEX OF BRITTEN'S WORKS
- INDEX OF OTHER COMPOSERS
- GENERAL INDEX
- Plates
- About the Author
- Copyright