Tony Palmer’s Film About Benjamin Britten:
A Time There Was…

This definitive portrait of the great composer Benjamin Britten from director Tony Palmer has been newly re-mastered in wide-screen stereo. It tells of one of the most profound love affairs of the 20th Century, between Britten and his lover and life-long companion and inspiration, Peter Pears.

At a time when it was illegal to be openly homosexual, Britten and Pears faced up to a hostile world with unflinching dignity, producing a string of masterpieces that, together with the works of Vaughan Williams, established English music as internationally preeminent in the middle years of the 20th century. Among the music featured is extracts from: Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, War Requiem, Curlew River, Death in Venice, Nocturne and The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

“This multi-award winning documentary, made in 1979 at the invitation of Sir Peter Pears, is quite simply the best film that will ever be made about the composer.” Simon Heffer

Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh, Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was one of the central figures of twentieth-century British classical music, and wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best known works include Peter Grimes and The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.

Born in Suffolk, the son of a dentist, Britten showed talent from an early age. He first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Over the next nine years, he wrote six more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading twentieth-century composers in this genre.

Britten's interests as a composer were wide-ranging; he produced important music in such varied genres as orchestral, choral, solo vocal (much of it written for his life partner, tenor Sir Peter Pears), chamber and instrumental, as well as film music. He also took a great interest in writing music for children and amateur performers, and was an outstanding pianist and conductor.

Together with Pears and the librettist/producer Eric Crozier, Britten founded the annual Aldeburgh Festival, and was responsible for the creation of Snape Maltings Concert Hall. In his last years, Britten was the first composer to be given a life peerage.

【古風按】在上世紀中葉，英國湧現出了三位偉大的作曲家：本傑明·布里頓男爵（Benjamin Britten）、愛德華·埃爾加准男爵（Edward Elgar）、拉爾夫·沃梵-威廉姆斯（Ralph Vaughan Williams）。

三人中藝術成就最高的唯屬本傑明·布里頓男爵，其作品以歌劇、合唱見長，但也創作出了《青少年管弦樂隊指南》（Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra）、《弗蘭克·布里奇主題變奏曲》（Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge）、《安魂交響曲》（Sinfonia da Requiem）、《四首大海間奏曲》（Four Sea Interludes）、《大提琴交響曲》（Cello Symphony）、《三首大提琴組曲》（Three Cello Suites）、《大提琴獨奏曲》（Cello Sonata）等管弦樂精品佳作。

除了自身的傑出作曲才能外，本傑明·布里頓男爵還是一位十分優秀的鋼琴家和指揮家。

下面這個合集是進入本傑明·布里頓音樂殿堂的鑰匙：

Britten conducts Britten vol. 4
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Decca/4756051
http://www.amazon.com/Britten-Conducts-Benjamin/dp/B000K2VDT0

本傑明·布里頓男爵在世的時候，與俄國大提琴泰斗姆斯蒂斯拉夫·羅斯托羅波維奇有過十分完美的合作，他們一起灌錄了幾片相當經典的唱片，古風極力推薦給大家：

Mstislav Rostropovich: The Complete Decca Recordings
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Decca/4783577
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Decca-Recordings-Mstislav-Rostropovich/dp/B00690LYWS