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Rating: 
Summary: Phaidon's, "Benjamin Britten" very informative, enjoyable
Review: Michael Oliver's "Benjamin Britten" is both informative and insightful. As one in a series of 20th Century Composers, I found this edition most interesting. I have read six other editions from the series, and Michael Oliver's is the best written thus far. There are several well written biographies of Britten on the market. All that I have read thus far spend entirely too much time discussing the personal life of the composer, rather than focusing on his ground- breaking operas, or orchestral works. Oliver chooses to focus more on the music that is Britten, rather than getting wrapped up in his personal life. True, elements of Britten's childhood and adult struggles with the morality of the day may have caused him to compose the haunting tunes and melodies, but they are not the basis for understanding his music. Oliver highlights the reason Britten is one of the 20th century's greatest composers- pure genious.
Rating:
Summary: Phaidon's, "Benjamin Britten" very informative, enjoyable
Review: Michael Oliver's "Benjamin Britten" is both informative and insightful. As one in a series of 20th Century Composers, I found this edition most interesting. I have read six other editions from the series, and Michael Oliver's is the best written thus far. There are several well written biographies of Britten on the market. All that I have read thus far spend entirely too much time discussing the personal life of the composer, rather than focusing on his ground- breaking operas, or orchestral works. Oliver chooses to focus more on the music that is Britten, rather than getting wrapped up in his personal life. True, elements of Britten's childhood and adult struggles with the morality of the day may have caused him to compose the haunting tunes and melodies, but they are not the basis for understanding his music. Oliver highlights the reason Britten is one of the 20th century's greatest composers- pure genious.
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