Poetry in Sound: The Music of Benjamin Britten

Nice display at the British Library marking the Benjamin Britten centenary year looking at his poetic and literary influences.

It was lovely to see scores in Britten’s own hand next to the poems which inspired it. There was also a nice section on his work with Auden and displays on specific operas. I got quite nostalgic at the section on the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

I was also interested to find out the Britten and Menuhin played two concerts at Belsen shortly after its liberation.

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