Music and Sexuality in Britten: Selected Essays [Paperback]

Philip Brett (Author), George E. Haggerty (Editor), Susan McClary (Introduction), Jenny Doctor (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2006

Philip Brett's groundbreaking writing on Benjamin Britten altered the course of music scholarship in the later twentieth century. This volume is the first to gather in one collection Brett's searching and provocative work on the great British composer. Some of the early essays opened the door to gay studies in music, while the discussions that Brett initiated reinvigorated the study of Britten's work and inspired a generation of scholars to imagine "the new musicology." Addressing urgent questions of how an artist's sexual, cultural, and personal identity feeds into specific musical texts, Brett examines most of Britten's operas as well as his role in the British cultural establishment of the mid-twentieth century. With some of the essays appearing here for the first time, this volume develops a complex understanding of Britten's musical achievement and highlights the many ways that Brett expanded the borders of his field.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Philip Brett changed the way we hear Britten's music, compelling us to listen anew for its sounding-out of political, sexual, and cultural meanings. Brett's richly detailed historical awareness, his supple and subtle theoretical mind, his sheer musicianship - these are qualities clear on every page of this book." - Philip Rupprecht, author of Britten's Musical Language"

From the Inside Flap

"Philip Brett changed the way we hear Britten's music, compelling us to listen anew for its sounding-out of political, sexual, and cultural meanings. Brett's richly detailed historical awareness, his supple and subtle theoretical mind, his sheer musicianship--these are qualities clear on every page of this book."--Philip Rupprecht, author of Britten's Musical Language

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (November 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520246101
• ISBN-13: 978-0520246102
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,020,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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