DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Knowing Britten

Christopher Gillett author Steuart Bedford author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bittern Press

Published:21st May '21

Should be back in stock very soon

Knowing Britten cover

Knowing Britten is a vivid and insightful account of Steuart Bedford's long association with both Britten the man and his music - 2021 Book of the Year -Presto Music The conductor and pianist Steuart Bedford (1939-2021) could not remember a time when he did not know Benjamin Britten. His mother, Lesley Duff, sang with the English Opera Group in the premieres of The Rape of Lucretia and Albert Herrring in the late 1940s, and the family was closely involved with Britten and Pears for many years. Following his music studies and time on the music staff at Glyndebourne, Bedford joined the English Opera Group, gradually becoming Britten's trusted surrogate conductor. As Britten's health began to fail, he took on responsibility for the premiere performances of Britten's final opera, Death in Venice, including its US premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and the dramatic cantata Phaedra among others.

A deeply heartfelt account with a wealth of personal photos.... A loving tribute to two great musicians, a must for Britten fans. -- Susan Pierotti * Stringendo, Journal of the Australian Strings Association *

ISBN: 9780957167223

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 250g

208 pages