tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998919302182759604.post7026671231348117070..comments2014-03-22T09:39:24.421-04:00Comments on Musings: Britten Project: Take 1Scott Williamsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847565610009226201noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998919302182759604.post-33630306234024840612009-04-13T12:58:00.000-04:002009-04-13T12:58:00.000-04:00Thanks, Paul: I was not aware of the Whitman artic...Thanks, Paul: I was not aware of the Whitman article, so thanks for sharing it.Scott Williamsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10847565610009226201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998919302182759604.post-51586842421461661502009-04-13T12:42:00.000-04:002009-04-13T12:42:00.000-04:00In fairness, I must point out that RVW is extensiv...In fairness, I must point out that RVW is extensively documented as being free of homophobic prejudice - for example, Lawrence Kramer "Walt Whitman and Modern Music", pages 31-33.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06876773775820585506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998919302182759604.post-59099992212471726962009-04-13T10:19:00.000-04:002009-04-13T10:19:00.000-04:00Thanks for elaborating, Paul. I'm glad to have...Thanks for elaborating, Paul. I'm glad to have some spirited discussion. I second your motion on Elgar. Not to draw out the debate on Britten, but even by 1950 he was up to opus 47, with song & choral cycles of Auden, Rimbaud, Michelangelo, Donne, Hopkins, the Spring Symphony, Saint Nicolas (itself an example of his challenging music for amateurs and children). I love RVW and appreciate the broad appeal of his music. I've always found the "too clever" comments to smack of homophobia (don't know about RVW, but Walton and Stravinsky certainly were guilty of such prejudice). But here I go again protesting too much! Max, huh? He's one of those composers (like Tippett) I want to like more than I actually do. I'm not sure who would get my post-Britten vote: perhaps James MacMillan. Cheers!Scott Williamsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10847565610009226201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998919302182759604.post-30886190675325301852009-04-13T08:36:00.000-04:002009-04-13T08:36:00.000-04:00BTW, Scott, I wasn't suggesting that you came up w...BTW, Scott, I wasn't suggesting that you came up with the claim that Britten was "the greatest etc". He was very good at marketing, particularly among musicologists! Also, a dissenting opinion doesn't make me a critic.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06876773775820585506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998919302182759604.post-47647729699486734902009-04-13T03:07:00.000-04:002009-04-13T03:07:00.000-04:00While it was possible to nail critical colours to ...While it was possible to nail critical colours to the mast in the 1950s, it was MUCH too early to punt for the title of "greatest British composer since Purcell" - Britten simply hadn't written enough to justify this epitaph.<BR/>This is an entertaining game over the port, but you have to consider the broader public in your jury. <BR/>By 1950, Ralph Vaughan Williams had become almost a stultifying force in British music, almost a travesty of Elgar's jingoist mode. There was a natural desire to break out, and a commercial and academic desire to break the hold Vaughan Williams' had established over the musical scene. The "Serenade for tenor horn and strings" and "Peter Grimes" marked a new direction. <BR/>At the same time, Vaughan Williams had IMO identified a problematic trend in Britten's work, criticising the young student as "too clever" (a blighting British criticism). Walton had produced a series of interesting and popular pieces, and Tippett had created the highly popular postwar "A Child of Our Time". <BR/>Having been through two cycles of loving and hating the "War Requiem", I now feel that Vaughan Williams is a greater vocal composer, rooted in folk song and reaching (speaking to) a much broader popular base than Britten ever did ("too clever"). RVW also wrote for a broader performing public than Britten, who milked the superstar postwar circuit (much to his publisher's dismay).<BR/>Since I'm playing the game, I vote for Elgar as the greatest British composer in the 19th century (you can't cavil at his vocal output), Vaugh Williams in the 20th century, and Maxwell Davies in the 21st century-to-date.<BR/>(Pass the port!)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06876773775820585506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998919302182759604.post-20229378202444495782009-04-12T23:50:00.000-04:002009-04-12T23:50:00.000-04:00Alas, I cannot take credit for the statement that ...Alas, I cannot take credit for the statement that should be "left to the marketing department" since musicologists have been anointing Britten as the British compositional heir since the 1950's (Besides, I AM the marketing department for my group).<BR/>RVW is certainly the greatest British symphonist, but is not Britten's equal as a vocal composer. I would be curious to know which other "comparable" composers my critic has in mind. I certainly do not intend to minimize any of their accomplishments. One can love Schubert and still recognize Beethoven as the greatest composer of his age.Scott Williamsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10847565610009226201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998919302182759604.post-72673891647662741852009-04-10T15:25:00.000-04:002009-04-10T15:25:00.000-04:00Statements like "the greatest British composer sin...Statements like "the greatest British composer since Purcell" should really be left to the marketing department. Vaughan Williams has an excellent claim to this title, for example, and there are other British composers of comparable musical stature in the 20th and 21st centuries.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06876773775820585506noreply@blogger.com