pianist, and a central figure in 20th-century British classical music.
His wide compositional range includes opera, orchestral, choral, solo
vocal, chamber, instrumental and film music. He showed talent from an
early age, and first came to public attention with the choral work A Boy
Was Born in 1934. His best-known works include the operas Peter Grimes
(1945) and Billy Budd (1951), the War Requiem (1962) and the orchestral
showpiece The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1945). Recurring
themes in his operas are the struggle of an outsider against a hostile
society, and the corruption of innocence. He wrote copiously for
children and amateur performers, including the opera Noye's Fludde, a
Missa Brevis, and the song collection Friday Afternoons. Britten often
composed with particular performers in mind, most importantly his
personal and professional partner, the tenor Peter Pears, with whom he
co-founded the annual Aldeburgh Festival in 1948; the pair were
responsible for the creation of its Snape Maltings concert hall in 1967.
In 1976 Britten became the first composer to be awarded a life peerage.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Britten>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
498:
Following the death of Anastasius II, both Symmachus and
Laurentius were elected pope, causing a schism that would last until
506.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope_Laurentius>
1635:
Dutch colonial forces on Taiwan launched a three-month
pacification campaign against Taiwanese aborigines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_pacification_campaign_on_Formosa>
1963:
Hours after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas,
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in aboard Air Force One as the 36th
President of the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy>
1988:
The first B-2 stealth bomber of the United States Air Force was
first displayed in public at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_B-2_Spirit>
2005:
Angela Merkel assumed office as the first female Chancellor of
Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
zygon:
1. (anatomy) In the cerebrum, the short crossbar or stem that connects the
two pairs of branches of an H-shaped fissure.
2. (music) An affinity or connection in a piece of music between tones,
chords, or phrases, such that one part appears to repeat, to imitate, or
to derive from the other, especially when perceived as an organising
force in the music.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zygon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It should be clear by now that a nation can be no stronger abroad
than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches
about equal rights and social justice will be respected by those whose
choice affects our future. Only an America which has fully educated its
citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and
perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live. And only an
America which is growing and prospering economically can sustain the
worldwide defenses of freedom, while demonstrating to all concerned the
opportunities of our system and society.
--John F. Kennedy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy>
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