Overview

It's a life of the two of us.' The complete surviving correspondence between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. To read these letters is to climb up a wall and peer into the secret garden of two giants.' From the Foreword by FIONA SHAW This volume comprises the complete surviving correspondence between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. The 365 letters written throughout their 39-year relationship are here brought together and published, as Pears intended, for the first time. While the correspondence provides valuable evidence of the development of Britten's works, more significant is the insight into his relationship with Pears and their day-to-day life together. Entertaining to read, domestic and intimate, the letters provide glimpses of cultural and artistic life in the twentiethcentury, including pacifism and conscientious objection, critical assessments of music and other artists, transport and communications development in the twentieth century, the 'Aldeburgh corpses', art collecting, gossip, everyday life in an English country house, the development of the Aldeburgh Festival, performance practice in early music, looking after dachshunds, travel, and a host of other topics. Above all, when read together, Britten and Pears's letters allow the clearest possible look 'behind the scenes' of one of the most productive creative partnerships of the twentieth century. VICKI P. STROEHER is Professor of Music History at Marshall University where she isalso Coordinator of the Music History & Literature area. NICHOLAS CLARK is the Librarian at the Britten-Pears Foundation at The Red House, Britten and Pears's home in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. JUDE BRIMMER is an Archivist at the Britten-Pears Foundation.

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9781783271085

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[T]his collection of letters between Britten and Pears engages two very different and equally fascinating roles. On the one hand, the book is immensely valuable as a research tool with clues about Britten's compositional process, insights from both men about music and prominent musicians of their day, and poignant, first-hand accounts of history. On the other hand, the letters are so touching and honest that even the most dispassionate researcher might accidentally get lost in the compelling love story and intimate look into a deeply personal, committed relationship. * NABMSA REVIEWS * 365 letters - one to read for each day of the year...Here we are allowed into the private world of two of the greatest musicians of their generation. * BRIO * My Beloved Man is, quite simply, a love story...it is fascinating to read. * GRAMOPHONE * Elegantly written and highly informative...a desirable volume for any academic library, and specialists in twentieth-century opera or British music generally will find it a rewarding read. * JNL OF THE SOCIETY FOR MUSICOLOGY IN IRELAND * It is difficult not to be moved by the personal and artistic courage of the relationship of which these letters, and the accompanying texts, present such a vivid...complete, picture. * FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE * Published here in full for the first time, these letters bear witness to a relationship in which love and creativity and romantic and professional lives are so tightly entwined that to try and separate them would make a nonsense of both. * THE SPECTATOR * 'To read these letters is to climb up a wall and peer into the secret garden of two giants.' From domestic dramas and dachshunds to ideas for the Aldeburgh Festival, a new book captures the lives of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in their own words. [...] While it does feel as if we're steaming open the envelopes and reading the letters while the house is still quiet, the editors of the book make it clear both men wanted their story to be told. * EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES * [...] These are primarily communications by two loving partners who wish to share quotidian details [...] in order to bridge the gap as best they can during times of separation. [...] Still, there are occasional insights into Pears's musicianship, and particularly his and Britten's profound admiration of Bach. * BBC MUSIC AUTUMN * These letters are important. . . [and] have never had quite the impact they do here. * TELEGRAPH *

These letters are important... (and) have never had quite the impact they do here. TELEGRAPH

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