Seeing this today I can hardly believe I was lucky enough to know this man. Once Britten got over his nervousness and shyness with you he was just so interesting and fun, like a naughty school boy. We all loved him. I enjoyed singing with him. He did love the natural human voice and believe me mine was natural. He taught me to love Schubert and because my name was Miller my nickname was of course 'Die Schone Mullerin!' He hated TV and interviews and was never at his best. This interview is one of most acceptable I have seen. It is such a shame because in real life he was very different to how he presents here as rather a prissy school master. He wasn't. Here he nearly lets himself become himself and one gets a tantelising glimpse for a few seconds and then he closes up again.
@@johnrandolph6121 I was at age 11 (in 1958)in the first cast of Noye's Fludde (I was a donkey,with head mask!).Britten was unstintingly kind and patient to us youngsters,explaining the music(and acting) very carefully, and tried to make it easy. However,he made no such allowance for the adult performers.They were expected to be note perfect,and where to stand and where and how to act,in that case he would be be incredibly strict.He valued his time and treasured his inspirations,and did not want either of them wasted. Then on the other hand we have Peter Pears,with his lyrical and dramatic voice.Peter was such a nice,funny and kind person. He was completely relaxed with Britten's music,but course he has a very large input into it.He always ensured we had sufficient food and drink during rehearsals,and even knew what sandwiches etc us youngsters liked.During breaks we sat with him,and he always made us laugh,with music anecdotes,and those of everyday life.Combine Britten & Pears and I have a wonderful memory of those days,It was all because I was just lucky enough to have a good singing (treble) voice.
This is an utter joy. A man has music inside him and brings it to reality in a world which is not particularly going out of its way to help. Here he gently discusses the approaches and ideas behind this process with an interlocutor who could not be more in tune with him. He sucessfully brought beauty into the world and we are the richer for it.
Along with Stravinsky, one of my favorite composers - infuriatingly parochial at times, but at his best his genius shines as brightly as any composer: War Requiem, Les Illuminations, Death in Venice, Phantasy quartet, Sinfonietta: many masterpieces.
Nice hearing a passive opinion on the Beatles from someone outside that particular music sphere. It's easy to forget that all these different strands and worlds of music were happening at the same time
It is nice to hear him comment on The Beatles. One of Paul McCartney's "Desert Island Discs" is Britten's Courtly Dances from "Gloriana" performed by Julian Bream.
So delighting & inspiring to listen Mr Britten speaking with such humility on his own work and the duty of the artists to society, but above all - his love & deep care for HUMANITY & Human values.
Great glimpse of the master...I was a little shocked that the conversation briefly turned towards The Beatles and that he had respect for them as well...good to know
This is so lovely . I was 18 in 1968 . What a different time it was . Ideas could be expressed like they are in this interview. That's all gone on television. It's just trash now.
Marvelous interview. What a privilege to watch him reflect and see him just being himself. He was without a doubt a phenomenal 20th century English composer. So sad to know that by 1968, he only had a mere eight years to live; he would be by 1976, wheelchair bound, dying of heart disease. Despite this challenge, he was to strenuously compose his most controversial masterwork, the opera "Death In Venice".
Hearing Britten speak for the first time is fascinating in itself. I certainly can't claim to be an expert or uber admirer of his music but this interview is one for the archive alright ( and in colour also). To the credit of the interviewer, who is clearly awestruck, BB comes across as relaxed but also demonstrates a degree of diffidence, self deprecation and an almost reluctance to speak about himself and his work, seemingly unaware of the fact that so many held him to be a Master of his chosen art: composition. I was interested to hear him say he never sketched but formed and retained musical ideas in his head and I certainly wasn't expecting him to offer an opinion about the Beatles!
I must confess to never been a great fan of Britten's music, however the War Requiem has to be one of the seminal works of the 20th c., the more I listen to it the more I appreciate it's greatness.
I have been listening to BB for 50 years and still can't get my head around all of it, but if you like WR, you may well like the Spring Sympony, Noye's Fludde, the Turn of the Screw, the Cantata Academica, and maybe save Peter Grimes, Billy Budd and Death in Venice for later.
"I have a theory that if the idea is worth remembering, I shall remember it." - Benjamin Britten "We would have to remember the melodies...I had no way of writing them down...The whole deal was to remember the songs we'd written. John and I had an unwritten law, which was that if we couldn't remember them, then how could we expect people who hadn't written them to remember them?" - Paul McCartney
Paul Mc at least could write music and learned musical intelligence, altho limited. I am pretty sure John L was musically illiterate. On the other hand, Britten wrote at a desk. He didn't need a crutch to help him write. The music was in his inner ears, in his mind.
@@robertwatson8266 Wrong, Paul never did write any note on a score (I'm not saying it's a bad or good thing). He even declared it on interview and books (cf Beatles Anthology Book) he would not even start learning, with the "fear" of being influenced from solid theory rules through his writing. Written things from his hand are lyrics and maybe chord names on paper only. His means to memorize was (still is) to keep the melody as possible by memory or put it on tape, demos... (as Lennon, or Harrison would do). When writing sheet music was a necessity (composing music for films or his Oratorio, various arrangements etc...) he would collaborate with George Martin. Paul got his "musical intelligence" learning songs & records by ear starting from rock'n'roll to more complex music hall stuff with richer chords.. figuring out harmony and melody work on his own, and got it quite right, talent and confidence + lots of work, dedication.
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In 1968 - when this interview was done - I was a very young student Soprano and though I had heard of Britten, I didn't really know his music. I gave up singing for decades...now I'm learning music (like his) that I didn't know back then.
I had heard some "funny" things years ago about the Maestro, but in this interview I found him to be witty, personable and charming. It was a particular pleasure to hear him speak. He seemed somewhat shy, which I admired. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful, Britten was a great composer, not so often played today, I truly enjoy his music, "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" a great work, as well as his opera 'Gloriana'...
A live performance of his requiem once brought me to tears. Then I saw Midsummers Night Dream in SF and couldn't believe dismissive snooty SF audience. His London recording of that masterpiece is a must hear.
Wonderfully open interview. Benjamin Britten was an immense influence on 20th century music. Sadly nobody has replaced him. Actually, it's not sad........it's TRAGIC. I'm sure BB is turning in his grave.
Please be careful about people turning in their graves. They might not like being disturbed by being turned in their graves for the sake of giving people's opinions weight through their own authority.
@@Donello The phase "turn in their grave" is a figure of speech only, and means that people no longer living, would be upset or angry about something. It does not mean they would be disturbed physically and literally "turned" in their graves by another person. I never thought I'd live to see the day when this terminology would need to be explained.
@@DavidA-ps1qr I do know the meaning of the figure of speech. The important part of my comment was that last one: for the sake of giving people's opinions weight through their own authority. The objectionable thing about this figure is that we have no way of knowing what this or that person would have thought, were he or she still alive, even if - like with Britten - we have first-hand evidence about his opinions on related matters.
@@DavidA-ps1qr You felt you had to explain something, but you didn't get the point of my statement yourself. So it wasn't THAT obvious. By the way, do you have the saying in Chinese? Doesnt' look like a Chinese saying to me.
A balanced sane musician........ the balance is reflected in his compositions as well. Many people I know say they hate Britten; I mean the emotionally imbalanced ones !
A fascinating interview == thank you for the upload. What is quite overwhelming in this clip is the skill, tact, empathy, modesty and intelligence of the interviewer. The quality of the video recording from 1968 is also very technically impressive (presumably digitally remastered). And yes, BB does look a bit like Sid James!
"If an artist has everything too easy sometimes the thing becomes a little glib... that is not a healthy thing. He must trim his art to the form it is most suited to." I can think of a few Hollywood directors who could stand to hear this.
Owen Wingrave is unjustly neglected: a real work of genius, especially the Peace Aria - Owen Wingrave, Rape of Lucretia & Death in Venice are my favorites of his operas.
Someday, I'm going to read a biography of Benjamin Britten. I'm currently reading about Andrew Jackson. But whenever I'm ready to read about Britten, the book I chose was Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century and it's by Paul Kildea.
I've read that he was not a fan of their music. He did like some popular music (Cole Porter is an example.) but apparently The Beatles were not among that group.
Nice shout out to the Beatles from B.B. The positive opinion of them he expresses was way out of the norm for his age and social class in 1968 as practically everyone over 18 found them appalling at the time. He was definitely a man of sharp perception.
'... practically everyone over 18 found them appalling at the time.' - that really isn't true. The Beatles were one of the few bands that could cross class and ages. And at the time even the most high falutin music critics were praising their work.
Amazing interview. It's great to hear someone who is humble in the way they express themselves, but at the same time so clear and sure about their opinions. However, I think he might have been challenged on his view of the human voice if he ever heard me doing karaoke.
It's interesting that you say that. I've always been struck by the same thing. He didn't do a lot of interviews but he did write lots of letters and they all come across that way. And I find it's a quality that comes across in his music....utter clarity....not one note wasted.
I can't say that I'm familiar in any way yet with Britten's repertoire, but watching this I have to say that it's a pleasure just listening to the man speak.
He has been called the greatest British composer since Purcell. In fact, there was said to have been a creative dry spell in music in the 1800s-1900s. His anti-war politics resonated well with the 1960s, even though many things were written in wartime 1940s. If you like 20th century avant-garde, you might like Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, especially for its unusual poetry.
It's interesting hearing Britten talking at this time - always part of the liberal - left establishment, whatever he might say to the contrary (and of course, he hung out with royalty and loved a title!) he would seem to hold views that by today's standards would be considered quite centre-right - above all, that government subsidy shouldn't be excessive. Of course, he worked incredibly hard, and probably this work ethic drove him to a relatively early grave. His discipline and high professional standards would be considered very passé by today's woke Left. [A crazy thought - a shame that Sid James (and exact contemporary) never got the chance to play him! They're physically strikingly alike.] There's relatively little film of him actually talking so this is very precious indeed. And what a gloriously educated voice! From another world!
Well, things have changed in Canada, although Opera is still mostly reserved to Toronto and Montreal, and there are no full-time choruses, and it's nothing to compare to European opera companies.
It's hard, 50 years on, to comprehend how a gay artist lived in the 1960s. For decades, gays had been pursued and jailed for their 'sins', in-private intimacy being decriminalised for over-21yo UK men only months before this interview. Ben and Peter lived an open secret, their love for one another ineffable. Outwardly feted and acclaimed, they were constrained from the public expression of emotions that fed the very wellspring of their art.
Humboles upon his death, none other than Queen Elizabeth II sent Pears her personal condolences for his loss. I think there were worrying times, but in their letters too, Britten says several times: “I don’t care who knows.” I think he meant it.
Britten was never a gay activist so I doubt he would attribute his compositional skills to being gay. Certainly not a wellspring. American composer Aaron Copland was asked about being a gay composer, a term that he disliked. He said that he was a composer who happened to be gay. His music would have been the same no matter what his choices would have been in life.
@@hornkraft9438 this is not true. Britten’s entire oeuvre was informed by his life experiences, of which homophobia is an inescapable part. If he was not gay, he would not have lived the same life, or have written the same music.
His perspective on the duty of composers is based on a very privileged position that extremely few composers get to experience. He says that composing in a vacuum is not a good thing, but most composers compose that way because they don't have a ready made audience. Britten wrote mostly from commission and had a secure performance lined up before the work was even completed. Maybe 1 tenth of classical composers have such a good deal as that.
I don't think that's true that he wrote mostly on commission, certainly not once he became so incredibly successful. But he certainly was in a rare situation where he could write whatever he wanted to, which he did, i.e. so many works for friends such as Pears, Bream, Rostropovich, etc. as well as works for his festival.
As important a figure as he is, I think this interview reveals very little of the reasons behind his style. At 8.48 the interviewer mentions the simplicity that Britten has spoken of, unfortunately that information seems to have been left on the cutting room floor.
Montrealers might be forgiven for being completely opera'd-out at Expo 67, (at which Wozzeck was presented, I guess not very well attended, 6:30 ) at which there was totally INSANE, unprecedented, (amount of) opera programming.Never seen before or since. (see below, you won't believe it.) Full companies presenting 3-5 productions each(!): La Scala, Bolshoi, Vienna State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, English Opera Group, Swedish Opera, Canadian Opera Company..Nilsson, Del Monaco, Vickers,..the list of stars is endless. Production list below..+GREAT interview. Thanks for posting. """The Swedish Opera was conducted by Silvio Varviso and Sixten Ehrling in productions of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, Karl Birger Blomdahl's “space opera” Aniara, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress (the Ingmar Bergman production), and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with Birgit Nilsson and Ken Neate. The Hamburg State Opera was conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and Leopold Ludwig in productions of Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, Berg's Lulu, Janáček's Jenůfa and a concert version of Weber's Der Freischütz. The Vienna State Opera was conducted by Karl Boehm, Heinrich Hollreiser, Berislav Klobucar and Josef Krips in productions of Mozart's Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro, Strauss' Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier, and Berg's Wozzeck. The Bolshoi Opera of Moscow performed in productions of Borodin's Prince Igor, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, Prokofiev's War and Peace, and Rimsky-Korsakov's The Invisible City of Kitezh. La Scala of Milan performed in productions of Verdi's Il Trovatore and Nabucco, Puccini's La Bohème, Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Verdi's Requiem conducted by Herbert von Karajan. The English Opera Group was conducted by Benjamin Britten, Rudolph Schwarz, James Lockhart and Steuart Bedford in productions of Britten's Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Walton's The Bear, Handel's Acis and Galatea, and John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (realized by Britten). The Canadian Opera Company (COC) was conducted by Victor Feldbrill and Otto-Werner Mueller in productions of Harry Somers'Louis Riel and Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann with Bernard Turgeon, Cornelis Opthof, Joseph Rouleau, Patricia Rideout, Roxolana Roslak, Mary Morrison, André Turp, Colette Boky, Eleanor Calbes, Heather Thomson, Phil Stark, Jan Rubes, Norman Mittelmann and Alan Crofoot. A two-opera season was also given by the MSO: Verdi's Otello, with Jon Vickers, Teresa Stratas and Louis Quilico, was conducted by Zubin Mehta; and Gounod's Faust, with Joseph Rouleau, Richard Verreau, Robert Savoie and Heather Thomson, was conducted by Wilfrid Pelletier.""" -Canadian Encyclopedia.
Is this the interview in its entirety? Several moments seem not quite conclusive, and then the camera appears to move away to something else. It would be great to hear anything else Britten may have had to say. A fascinating interview.
I believe there are a few recordings of it. There is one conducted by Britten that is excellent. Btw, if you've ever seen the movie Moonrise Kingdom, that little opera plays a role in the movie.
Noye's Fludde is a marvelous work that is still looking for an ideal recording. None of the current recordings (or videos) are sonically up to par, and often the performances sound dreadfully amateurish. 😎🎹
Perhaps one of his virtues was that he wrote for very small resources. Small orchestras. The excess of late Romantic music was constrained by the exhaustion of World War 1. French composers changed their outlook, too, because people and governments no longer had the funds to support late Romantic works by Wagner, Mahler and Bruckner.
The Canada Broadcasting Corporation was at its peak in the 1950's and 60's, programming fine cultural tv and radio. Alas, no more. Under our present leadership (Justin Trudeau), there is no coverage of classical music on tv. Plenty of american programs and cheaply made canadian comedies and dramas, promoting the political theology of the day. CBC Radio was still very impressive up until the early 1990's, with the emphasis on intelligence over appealing to the masses. Sad, at least to me.
I desperately need your help, I'm a French student who's working on The Rape of Lucretia for my mémoire, and I need so badly the sources of this interview... Can someone verify the date and the title of the emission ? Can someone give me some information (I already searched in CBC archives). Thank you so much ! And thank you B.B for your music
he takes the complete opposite view of, for example, Wagner, who just wrote music and waited for the attention to come his way. Also if Beethoven had taken this rather glib view, there would be no late quartets, or perhaps any of his late music...
Interesting, I love music as music, not as a mimic of the human voice. I have a background in electronic music but I have composed with more traditional instrumentation as well, and I have combined them. Also, electronic music’s failure to mimic other voices and instruments is precisely what draws me to synths. There is a whole other universe of sound to be explored there.
There were 3 truly great composers in the second half of 20th century. They were Shostakovich, Britten and (very different) Messiaen. All the rest were either too light weight or totally incomprehensible. I don't think we have anyone of like stature today.
He was Henry Comor, sometimes misspelt Comer. Searching ' "Henry Comor" Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ' will produce a string of results, including photographs. He came to Canada from England in 1956.
It is a masterpiece. You may not like the sound of it but it is a technical and artistic masterwork for those open to the expressionist style. The idiom is atonal but beautifully apt for the dramatic situation. I really do understand that many people find this kind of music to be jarring and arbitrarily dissonant but I can assure you that if you can accustom your ears to the sound you will discover genius, beauty and powerfully human music within.
@@7H7GRm8jm4QCnjuQ Could be. Britten LOOKED reserved and uptight, but in interviews he is funny and extroverted. Britten said he occasionally went back to Brahms to see if he was as bad as he thought, but he was WORSE! I would think Britten would respect Brahms adherence to classical structure, whether he liked it or not, but Britten was vehement in his dislike
@@jefolson6989 i would continue us to assert that Britten was uncomfortable with anything he saw too much of himself in. Therefore he never performed Erlkönig and disliked writing personal instrumental music, such as a piano sonata, and as far as I know, he never performed this sort of music either. Britten’s reservation would be by necessity. Of course he was not reserved around his inner circle at the Red House, Imogen Holst, the Scottish nurse whose name I forget, with Pears or Tibbet or many others. But one could not be homosexual at this time without a degree of repression and function within a typical British lifestyle, which is what Britten wanted - to be normal
@@7H7GRm8jm4QCnjuQ Peter Pears wanted to perform Brahms songs at the Festival but Britten refused to play it. Pears got Clifford Curzon to play! Nice understudy!
Brahms does come off as a bit amateurish sometimes, although he wrote some great pieces like the Violin Concerto. If you break music down into categories like melody, architecture, orchestral detail - we can see that Brahms was great at the first two but poor at orchestral detail. Britten is very different: great at melody and orchestral detail, but pretty poor at architecture.
He probably was scared. I would be. But it doesn't change the fact that his pacifism was completely sincere. He had identified as such since childhood. He was granted conscientious objector status and fulfilled all his requirements, which included giving concerts for troops, etc. And he continued to be of great service to the country for the rest of his life, writing many pieces for national events, such as coronations, etc. It really would not have made sense to send a genius like him to get shot at.
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Seeing this today I can hardly believe I was lucky enough to know this man. Once Britten got over his nervousness and shyness with you he was just so interesting and fun, like a naughty school boy. We all loved him. I enjoyed singing with him. He did love the natural human voice and believe me mine was natural. He taught me to love Schubert and because my name was Miller my nickname was of course 'Die Schone Mullerin!' He hated TV and interviews and was never at his best. This interview is one of most acceptable I have seen. It is such a shame because in real life he was very different to how he presents here as rather a prissy school master. He wasn't. Here he nearly lets himself become himself and one gets a tantelising glimpse for a few seconds and then he closes up again.
Wow, thanks for sharing. How did you get to know him? I'd love to hear more about your experiences with him.
his music is the same - tantalisingly vivid at times, then prissy and correct at others
Thank you so much for sharing this! As a matter of fact, bless you for it! I know little enough about him and his music thus far...
I was told he could be very nasty and cold, humiliate people and drop people who’d known him for years.
@@johnrandolph6121 I was at age 11 (in 1958)in the first cast of Noye's Fludde (I was a donkey,with head mask!).Britten was unstintingly kind and patient to us youngsters,explaining the music(and acting) very carefully, and tried to make it easy. However,he made no such allowance for the adult performers.They were expected to be note perfect,and where to stand and where and how to act,in that case he would be be incredibly strict.He valued his time and treasured his inspirations,and did not want either of them wasted.
Then on the other hand we have Peter Pears,with his lyrical and dramatic voice.Peter was such a nice,funny and kind person. He was completely relaxed with Britten's music,but course he has a very large input into it.He always ensured we had sufficient food and drink during rehearsals,and even knew what sandwiches etc us youngsters liked.During breaks we sat with him,and he always made us laugh,with music anecdotes,and those of everyday life.Combine Britten & Pears and I have a wonderful memory of those days,It was all because I was just lucky enough to have a good singing (treble) voice.
A reflective, thoughtful human being in conversation. You don't have to appreciate the genius of Britten's music to appreciate this interview.
ewwwwwwwwwwwwww
This is an utter joy. A man has music inside him and brings it to reality in a world which is not particularly going out of its way to help. Here he gently discusses the approaches and ideas behind this process with an interlocutor who could not be more in tune with him. He sucessfully brought beauty into the world and we are the richer for it.
Along with Stravinsky, one of my favorite composers - infuriatingly parochial at times, but at his best his genius shines as brightly as any composer: War Requiem, Les Illuminations, Death in Venice, Phantasy quartet, Sinfonietta: many masterpieces.
What a lovely man. I am a great fan of Britten’s music.
Nice hearing a passive opinion on the Beatles from someone outside that particular music sphere. It's easy to forget that all these different strands and worlds of music were happening at the same time
It is nice to hear him comment on The Beatles. One of Paul McCartney's "Desert Island Discs" is Britten's Courtly Dances from "Gloriana" performed by Julian Bream.
Great Britain's great Britten!
bravo !
Great Britain’s, great Briton, great Britten!
Yes!
@@MattWeisherComposer Well said!
Great Britten certainly.. Great Britain ? not so sure..
Mr Britten, your music continues to be used, enjoyed & inspires us.
So delighting & inspiring to listen Mr Britten speaking with such humility on his own work and the duty of the artists to society, but above all - his love & deep care for HUMANITY & Human values.
hufemeve Lord Britten (he was ennobled as Baron Britten of Aldeburgh). 👍🏻
Great glimpse of the master...I was a little shocked that the conversation briefly turned towards The Beatles and that he had respect for them as well...good to know
I've read that he did not care for their music. But he did apparently find them to be refreshing personalities.
This is so lovely . I was 18 in 1968 . What a different time it was . Ideas could be expressed like they are in this interview. That's all gone on television. It's just trash now.
Most people today don't even know who Britten was. It is sad.
TV dies and TH-cam grows.
Thank you, John for posting this! I enjoyed it very much. About to play the Sea Interludes again and it gives me a new perspective to hear him speak.
Marvelous interview. What a privilege to watch him reflect and see him just being himself. He was without a doubt a phenomenal 20th century English composer. So sad to know that by 1968, he only had a mere eight years to live; he would be by 1976, wheelchair bound, dying of heart disease. Despite this challenge, he was to strenuously compose his most controversial masterwork, the opera "Death In Venice".
Santissime parole, luce per i nostri tempi e per tutti i tempi.Musica per gli esseri umani, questa è l'unica risposta.I love you, Ben.
Hearing Britten speak for the first time is fascinating in itself. I certainly can't claim to be an expert or uber admirer of his music but this interview is one for the archive alright ( and in colour also). To the credit of the interviewer, who is clearly awestruck, BB comes across as relaxed but also demonstrates a degree of diffidence, self deprecation and an almost reluctance to speak about himself and his work, seemingly unaware of the fact that so many held him to be a Master of his chosen art: composition. I was interested to hear him say he never sketched but formed and retained musical ideas in his head and I certainly wasn't expecting him to offer an opinion about the Beatles!
I must confess to never been a great fan of Britten's music, however the War Requiem has to be one of the seminal works of the 20th c., the more I listen to it the more I appreciate it's greatness.
cameronpaul correction: its greatness. 🤓
I have been listening to BB for 50 years and still can't get my head around all of it, but if you like WR, you may well like the Spring Sympony, Noye's Fludde, the Turn of the Screw, the Cantata Academica, and maybe save Peter Grimes, Billy Budd and Death in Venice for later.
how about it is greatness?
Hugh x I do, I do.
mizofan Not in a million years. Sorry. :-)
Yes. A wonderful, inspiring and very human contact with a true genius, a seer of tomorrows.
Im so glad this is here . wouldn't normally get this rare opportunity.thanks to all whom it came from.
"I have a theory that if the idea is worth remembering, I shall remember it." - Benjamin Britten
"We would have to remember the melodies...I had no way of writing them down...The whole deal was to remember the songs we'd written. John and I had an unwritten law, which was that if we couldn't remember them, then how could we expect people who hadn't written them to remember them?" - Paul McCartney
Paul Mc at least could write music and learned musical intelligence, altho limited. I am pretty sure John L was musically illiterate. On the other hand, Britten wrote at a desk. He didn't need a crutch to help him write. The music was in his inner ears, in his mind.
@@robertwatson8266 Wrong, Paul never did write any note on a score (I'm not saying it's a bad or good thing). He even declared it on interview and books (cf Beatles Anthology Book) he would not even start learning, with the "fear" of being influenced from solid theory rules through his writing. Written things from his hand are lyrics and maybe chord names on paper only. His means to memorize was (still is) to keep the melody as possible by memory or put it on tape, demos... (as Lennon, or Harrison would do). When writing sheet music was a necessity (composing music for films or his Oratorio, various arrangements etc...) he would collaborate with George Martin. Paul got his "musical intelligence" learning songs & records by ear starting from rock'n'roll to more complex music hall stuff with richer chords.. figuring out harmony and melody work on his own, and got it quite right, talent and confidence + lots of work, dedication.
Julki Tan Absolutely correct, Julki.
@@robertwatson8266 what an elitist
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Excellent portrait of him. Sad that his heart was very weak and that he only lived for eight more years.
In 1968 - when this interview was done - I was a very young student Soprano and though I had heard of Britten, I didn't really know his music.
I gave up singing for decades...now I'm learning music (like his) that I didn't know back then.
I had heard some "funny" things years ago about the Maestro, but in this interview I found him to be witty, personable and charming. It was a particular pleasure to hear him speak. He seemed somewhat shy, which I admired. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful, Britten was a great composer, not so often played today, I truly enjoy his music, "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" a great work, as well as his opera 'Gloriana'...
A live performance of his requiem once brought me to tears. Then I saw Midsummers Night Dream in SF and couldn't believe dismissive snooty SF audience. His London recording of that masterpiece is a must hear.
Thank you so much for sharing!
This is a difficult age and time . But must be a masterpiece . I am in awe 💖
He is the Master.
Wonderfully open interview. Benjamin Britten was an immense influence on 20th century music. Sadly nobody has replaced him. Actually, it's not sad........it's TRAGIC. I'm sure BB is turning in his grave.
Please be careful about people turning in their graves. They might not like being disturbed by being turned in their graves for the sake of giving people's opinions weight through their own authority.
@@Donello The phase "turn in their grave" is a figure of speech only, and means that people no longer living, would be upset or angry about something.
It does not mean they would be disturbed physically and literally "turned" in their graves by another person.
I never thought I'd live to see the day when this terminology would need to be explained.
@@DavidA-ps1qr I do know the meaning of the figure of speech. The important part of my comment was that last one: for the sake of giving people's opinions weight through their own authority.
The objectionable thing about this figure is that we have no way of knowing what this or that person would have thought, were he or she still alive, even if - like with Britten - we have first-hand evidence about his opinions on related matters.
@@Donello The Chinese have a saying for that: "You shouldn't make the obvious a subject of discussion"
@@DavidA-ps1qr You felt you had to explain something, but you didn't get the point of my statement yourself. So it wasn't THAT obvious.
By the way, do you have the saying in Chinese? Doesnt' look like a Chinese saying to me.
Music expresses emotions in a way that words cannot
A balanced sane musician........ the balance is reflected in his compositions as well. Many people I know say they hate Britten; I mean the emotionally imbalanced ones !
Marvelous. My humble thanks for publishing this video.
Trumpet trio- “Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury”:
Exquisite music and a literal BLAST blast to play!!!
A fascinating interview == thank you for the upload. What is quite overwhelming in this clip is the skill, tact, empathy, modesty and intelligence of the interviewer.
The quality of the video recording from 1968 is also very technically impressive (presumably digitally remastered).
And yes, BB does look a bit like Sid James!
Thank you SO much for sharing this.
I spent time at his grave yesterday. Amazing.
La première fois que je vois un interview de Benjamin Britten 🤍🤍🥰🥰
He taught one of my teachers.
Once Britten, forever smitten
"If an artist has everything too easy sometimes the thing becomes a little glib... that is not a healthy thing. He must trim his art to the form it is most suited to."
I can think of a few Hollywood directors who could stand to hear this.
Thanks up load this to public！ I am working on his piece. This is really help to understand his music.
John, your videos are such a treasure! Thank you!!!
My favorite composer, bar none. I would give my teeth to sing Owen Wingrave ❤.
Owen Wingrave is unjustly neglected: a real work of genius, especially the Peace Aria - Owen Wingrave, Rape of Lucretia & Death in Venice are my favorites of his operas.
Someday, I'm going to read a biography of Benjamin Britten. I'm currently reading about Andrew Jackson. But whenever I'm ready to read about Britten, the book I chose was Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century and it's by Paul Kildea.
I didn't like that one, to be honest.
Then, what's a better biography of Benjamin Britten I could read?
Britain's definitely got talent.
Wonderful, but too short!
Such a delight,Britten a fan of the Beatles,Bye for now love Alan
I've read that he was not a fan of their music. He did like some popular music (Cole Porter is an example.) but apparently The Beatles were not among that group.
Nice shout out to the Beatles from B.B. The positive opinion of them he expresses was way out of the norm for his age and social class in 1968 as practically everyone over 18 found them appalling at the time. He was definitely a man of sharp perception.
'... practically everyone over 18 found them appalling at the time.' - that really isn't true. The Beatles were one of the few bands that could cross class and ages. And at the time even the most high falutin music critics were praising their work.
@@anothertime1282 Not in 1968 they weren't. I lived through that era in the UK. That happened later
Thank you for doing this!!
Amazing interview. It's great to hear someone who is humble in the way they express themselves, but at the same time so clear and sure about their opinions. However, I think he might have been challenged on his view of the human voice if he ever heard me doing karaoke.
It's interesting that you say that. I've always been struck by the same thing. He didn't do a lot of interviews but he did write lots of letters and they all come across that way. And I find it's a quality that comes across in his music....utter clarity....not one note wasted.
i know little about Benjamin Britten but he seemed pretty based, if you will
Those 20th Century accents! How times change....
Even the Canadian sounds like a Brit. That is the way I was brought up.
Mark Swift I did not know anyone who spoke like this is my world in 20th century
@@georgealderson4424 the Queen used to drive to Aldeburgh to wipe his arse every morning and she would always comment how posh he spoke!
I love Britten's attitude about music for people and his non stuck-up attitude towards the Beatles.
I can't say that I'm familiar in any way yet with Britten's repertoire, but watching this I have to say that it's a pleasure just listening to the man speak.
He has been called the greatest British composer since Purcell. In fact, there was said to have been a creative dry spell in music in the 1800s-1900s. His anti-war politics resonated well with the 1960s, even though many things were written in wartime 1940s. If you like 20th century avant-garde, you might like Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, especially for its unusual poetry.
Back when the CBC was good. An era lost and gone forever.
"I believe the artist should be a conscious human being." How fantastic.
Better that an artist is conscious for sure.
"People are my note-rows" so Benjamin Britten said when he was asked if he ever thought to adopt the 12 tone technique in any of his works.
It's interesting hearing Britten talking at this time - always part of the liberal - left establishment, whatever he might say to the contrary (and of course, he hung out with royalty and loved a title!) he would seem to hold views that by today's standards would be considered quite centre-right - above all, that government subsidy shouldn't be excessive. Of course, he worked incredibly hard, and probably this work ethic drove him to a relatively early grave. His discipline and high professional standards would be considered very passé by today's woke Left.
[A crazy thought - a shame that Sid James (and exact contemporary) never got the chance to play him! They're physically strikingly alike.]
There's relatively little film of him actually talking so this is very precious indeed. And what a gloriously educated voice! From another world!
Well, things have changed in Canada, although Opera is still mostly reserved to Toronto and Montreal, and there are no full-time choruses, and it's nothing to compare to European opera companies.
And Vancouver, too?
what a sweet point of view
It's hard, 50 years on, to comprehend how a gay artist lived in the 1960s. For decades, gays had been pursued and jailed for their 'sins', in-private intimacy being decriminalised for over-21yo UK men only months before this interview. Ben and Peter lived an open secret, their love for one another ineffable. Outwardly feted and acclaimed, they were constrained from the public expression of emotions that fed the very wellspring of their art.
Humboles erm.
I don't think anyone cared about it. He made wonderful music.
Humboles upon his death, none other than Queen Elizabeth II sent Pears her personal condolences for his loss. I think there were worrying times, but in their letters too, Britten says several times: “I don’t care who knows.” I think he meant it.
Britten was never a gay activist so I doubt he would attribute his compositional skills to being gay. Certainly not a wellspring. American composer Aaron Copland was asked about being a gay composer, a term that he disliked. He said that he was a composer who happened to be gay. His music would have been the same no matter what his choices would have been in life.
@@hornkraft9438 this is not true. Britten’s entire oeuvre was informed by his life experiences, of which homophobia is an inescapable part. If he was not gay, he would not have lived the same life, or have written the same music.
Funny to hear the old Canadian accent...
Just from the first 2 minutes, I love this guy what a great man... Not in an elitist sense
His perspective on the duty of composers is based on a very privileged position that extremely few composers get to experience. He says that composing in a vacuum is not a good thing, but most composers compose that way because they don't have a ready made audience. Britten wrote mostly from commission and had a secure performance lined up before the work was even completed. Maybe 1 tenth of classical composers have such a good deal as that.
I don't think that's true that he wrote mostly on commission, certainly not once he became so incredibly successful. But he certainly was in a rare situation where he could write whatever he wanted to, which he did, i.e. so many works for friends such as Pears, Bream, Rostropovich, etc. as well as works for his festival.
This is marvellous. I so wish I had met him. My musical God.
danged good guy & interview!
Fascinating.
His violin concerto is the most soulful of all.
As important a figure as he is, I think this interview reveals very little of the reasons behind his style. At 8.48 the interviewer mentions the simplicity that Britten has spoken of, unfortunately that information seems to have been left on the cutting room floor.
So Büchner and Berg collaborated on the masterpiece Wozzeck from the beginning?
Carry on Composing, Sid!
Montrealers might be forgiven for being completely opera'd-out at Expo 67, (at which Wozzeck was presented, I guess not very well attended, 6:30 ) at which there was totally INSANE, unprecedented, (amount of) opera programming.Never seen before or since. (see below, you won't believe it.)
Full companies presenting 3-5 productions each(!): La Scala, Bolshoi, Vienna State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, English Opera Group, Swedish Opera, Canadian Opera Company..Nilsson, Del Monaco, Vickers,..the list of stars is endless. Production list below..+GREAT interview. Thanks for posting.
"""The Swedish Opera was conducted by Silvio Varviso and Sixten Ehrling in productions of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, Karl Birger Blomdahl's “space opera” Aniara, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress (the Ingmar Bergman production), and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with Birgit Nilsson and Ken Neate.
The Hamburg State Opera was conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and Leopold Ludwig in productions of Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, Berg's Lulu, Janáček's Jenůfa and a concert version of Weber's Der Freischütz.
The Vienna State Opera was conducted by Karl Boehm, Heinrich Hollreiser, Berislav Klobucar and Josef Krips in productions of Mozart's Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro, Strauss' Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier, and Berg's Wozzeck.
The Bolshoi Opera of Moscow performed in productions of Borodin's Prince Igor, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, Prokofiev's War and Peace, and Rimsky-Korsakov's The Invisible City of Kitezh.
La Scala of Milan performed in productions of Verdi's Il Trovatore and Nabucco, Puccini's La Bohème, Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Verdi's Requiem conducted by Herbert von Karajan.
The English Opera Group was conducted by Benjamin Britten, Rudolph Schwarz, James Lockhart and Steuart Bedford in productions of Britten's Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Walton's The Bear, Handel's Acis and Galatea, and John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (realized by Britten).
The Canadian Opera Company (COC) was conducted by Victor Feldbrill and Otto-Werner Mueller in productions of Harry Somers'Louis Riel and Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann with Bernard Turgeon, Cornelis Opthof, Joseph Rouleau, Patricia Rideout, Roxolana Roslak, Mary Morrison, André Turp, Colette Boky, Eleanor Calbes, Heather Thomson, Phil Stark, Jan Rubes, Norman Mittelmann and Alan Crofoot.
A two-opera season was also given by the MSO: Verdi's Otello, with Jon Vickers, Teresa Stratas and Louis Quilico, was conducted by Zubin Mehta; and Gounod's Faust, with Joseph Rouleau, Richard Verreau, Robert Savoie and Heather Thomson, was conducted by Wilfrid Pelletier.""" -Canadian Encyclopedia.
Is this the interview in its entirety? Several moments seem not quite conclusive, and then the camera appears to move away to something else. It would be great to hear anything else Britten may have had to say. A fascinating interview.
Not that I know of. My guess is it was just edited down awkwardly for broadcast.
scmager The camera probably moves off to Peter Pears singing as illustrative interludes to the speaking.
According to this description here of the program the interview would have been a half hour long:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lively_Arts
I once heard NOAH'S FLOOD. Beautiful work, but never performed. Dont know if there was ever a recording.
It's written Noyes Fludde!
I believe there are a few recordings of it. There is one conducted by Britten that is excellent. Btw, if you've ever seen the movie Moonrise Kingdom, that little opera plays a role in the movie.
@@johnrandolph6121 thanks! I will look for that film
@@jefolson6989 It's only a audio recording.
Noye's Fludde is a marvelous work that is still looking for an ideal recording. None of the current recordings (or videos) are sonically up to par, and often the performances sound dreadfully amateurish. 😎🎹
Not a fan of BB, but this is a delight
Why not?
Perhaps one of his virtues was that he wrote for very small resources. Small orchestras. The excess of late Romantic music was constrained by the exhaustion of World War 1. French composers changed their outlook, too, because people and governments no longer had the funds to support late Romantic works by Wagner, Mahler and Bruckner.
A brilliant man ,genius comes to mind .
Thankyou for informing me that Britten was not a fan of the Beatles,nice to know he was a fan of Cole Porter,Bye for now from Alan
As much as he struggled to explain himself, it's impossible. Listening is the only way.
i like it ! - the "middle" way*))
The Canada Broadcasting Corporation was at its peak in the 1950's and 60's, programming fine cultural tv and radio. Alas, no more. Under our present leadership (Justin Trudeau), there is no coverage of classical music on tv. Plenty of american programs and cheaply made canadian comedies and dramas, promoting the political theology of the day. CBC Radio was still very impressive up until the early 1990's, with the emphasis on intelligence over appealing to the masses. Sad, at least to me.
*_He played the gentrified Englishman very well._*
Such a working class hero, worked down the pit 35 years whilst writing all this music, proper hero to the poor across the world!
Heroism of his kind (and that of his contemporary, Michael Tippett) transcends class warfare.
What a gift. So grateful to be singing the War Requiem for a second time. Like wine it only gets better with age.
I desperately need your help, I'm a French student who's working on The Rape of Lucretia for my mémoire, and I need so badly the sources of this interview... Can someone verify the date and the title of the emission ? Can someone give me some information (I already searched in CBC archives). Thank you so much ! And thank you B.B for your music
PS : I made all the transcription in EN translation in FR of this interview, if someone wants it !
he takes the complete opposite view of, for example, Wagner, who just wrote music and waited for the attention to come his way. Also if Beethoven had taken this rather glib view, there would be no late quartets, or perhaps any of his late music...
Interesting, I love music as music, not as a mimic of the human voice. I have a background in electronic music but I have composed with more traditional instrumentation as well, and I have combined them. Also, electronic music’s failure to mimic other voices and instruments is precisely what draws me to synths. There is a whole other universe of sound to be explored there.
Electronic music does not breathe.
Beatles!!! ???? Give me BRITTEN! BRITTEN.
There were 3 truly great composers in the second half of 20th century. They were Shostakovich, Britten and (very different) Messiaen. All the rest were either too light weight or totally incomprehensible. I don't think we have anyone of like stature today.
Reich?
I agree with those 3, but would also add Kurtag & John Adams.
Britten's humour comes across rather more in conversation than it does in his music (with perhaps the exception of Albert Herring).
What about rejoice in the Lamb? Or Saint Nicolas? Or Noye's Fludde? I find a lot of comedy in his work.
17. Bass clarinets is not a healthy thing?? Oh, my. I am ruined.
So then you are "contra" bass clarinets?
2:11
The (excellent) interviewer sounds like a Brit. Who is he?
AntPDC He sounds like the Canadian he is. Dunno his name tho’. Sorry.
+ mcavitt How do you know he's Canadian if you don't know who he is?
He speaks with a Mid-Atlantic accent. Not a fully British one. He is excellent, I quite agree.
AntPDC it’s from Canadian TV and they even talk about the Wozzeck production in Montreal.
The interviewer is Henry Comer:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lively_Arts
I DO LIKE BRITTEN'S OPERA: "PILGRIM'S PROGRESS".
Er, wrong composer, Pilgrims Progress was written by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
@@Mackeson3 Or the Rake's Progress by Stravinsky
I wonder who the interviewer was ...
He was Henry Comor, sometimes misspelt Comer. Searching ' "Henry Comor" Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ' will produce a string of results, including photographs. He came to Canada from England in 1956.
Does any one know what’s the name of the interviewer?
Henry Comer, I believe.
Thank you!
A great man, but he had his foibles.( and scandals!)
"Peter Grimes" wonderful!
"The burning fiery furnace" more so.
Mike C The scandals were unmerited. Read &/see Britten’s Children.
what sort of person would describe 'Wozzeck' as a 'masterpiece'?
A musician.
@@langjones3846 miaw
It is a masterpiece. You may not like the sound of it but it is a technical and artistic masterwork for those open to the expressionist style. The idiom is atonal but beautifully apt for the dramatic situation. I really do understand that many people find this kind of music to be jarring and arbitrarily dissonant but I can assure you that if you can accustom your ears to the sound you will discover genius, beauty and powerfully human music within.
Additionally Britten had wanted to study with Berg but was not able to
I know that he loved to manipulate his manhood in front of friends.
Nice. But he hated Brahms, which I dont understand. Something was missing from Britten's soul.
Brahms was a very repressed person. I would wonder if Britten saw too much of himself in Brahms
@@7H7GRm8jm4QCnjuQ Could be. Britten LOOKED reserved and uptight, but in interviews he is funny and extroverted. Britten said he occasionally went back to Brahms to see if he was as bad as he thought, but he was WORSE! I would think Britten would respect Brahms adherence to classical structure, whether he liked it or not, but Britten was vehement in his dislike
@@jefolson6989 i would continue us to assert that Britten was uncomfortable with anything he saw too much of himself in. Therefore he never performed Erlkönig and disliked writing personal instrumental music, such as a piano sonata, and as far as I know, he never performed this sort of music either. Britten’s reservation would be by necessity. Of course he was not reserved around his inner circle at the Red House, Imogen Holst, the Scottish nurse whose name I forget, with Pears or Tibbet or many others. But one could not be homosexual at this time without a degree of repression and function within a typical British lifestyle, which is what Britten wanted - to be normal
@@7H7GRm8jm4QCnjuQ Peter Pears wanted to perform Brahms songs at the Festival but
Britten refused to play it. Pears got Clifford Curzon to play! Nice understudy!
Brahms does come off as a bit amateurish sometimes, although he wrote some great pieces like the Violin Concerto. If you break music down into categories like melody, architecture, orchestral detail - we can see that Brahms was great at the first two but poor at orchestral detail. Britten is very different: great at melody and orchestral detail, but pretty poor at architecture.
You were a coward in the war weren't you?...
He probably was scared. I would be. But it doesn't change the fact that his pacifism was completely sincere. He had identified as such since childhood. He was granted conscientious objector status and fulfilled all his requirements, which included giving concerts for troops, etc. And he continued to be of great service to the country for the rest of his life, writing many pieces for national events, such as coronations, etc. It really would not have made sense to send a genius like him to get shot at.
@@johnrandolph6121 Yea, shoot at the ordinary schmucks.
I was paraphrasing the interviewers opening remarks. He was being judgemental.