The Music of Britten and Tippett: Studies in Themes and Techniques

by Arnold Whittall

Overview

In this classic study of Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett, Arnold Whittall builds up a unique double portrait of the two leading composers of their generation. For this second, revised edition Whittall includes a new chapter on Tippett's major works of the 1980s: the Piano Sonata No. 4, the large-scale choral composition The Mask of Time and the most recent opera, New Year. In addition, new information on the Britten repertoire and an updated bibliography are also presented.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521386685
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/31/1990
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	332
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.83(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Prologue; Part I. The Thirties and the War: 1. Britten: Four early works (1931–3); 2. Tippett: String quartet No. 1, Piano Sonata No. 1 (1934–7); 3. Britten: Our Hunting Fathers to the Violin Concerto (1936–9); 4. Tippett in 1939: the Concerto for Double String Orchestra; 5. Britten in America: 1939–42; 6. Tippett: an oratorio, a string quartet and a cantata (1939–43); 7. Britten's return: 1942–3; 8. Tippett and symphonic form (1944–6); Postscript: the Britten legacy; Part II. After the War (1944–63): 9. Britten: Peter Grimes (1944–5); 10. Britten: the Donne Sonnets and the String Quartet No. 2 (1945); 11. Britten: The Rape of Lucretia and Albert Herring (1946–7); 12. Britten: from Albert Herring to Billy Budd (1947-51); 13. Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage (1946–52); 14. Britten: from Canticle II to Winter Words (1952–3); 15. Tippett: from the Corelli Fantasia to the Piano Concerto (1953-5); 16. Britten: The Turn of the Screw to Noye's Fludde (1953–7); 17. Tippett: Symphony No. 2 (1956–7); 18. Britten: the Nocturne to the War Requiem (1958–61); 19. Tippett: King Priam (1958–61); 20. Tippett: after King Priam (1962–3); Part III. Patterns of Transformation (1963–80): 21. Britten: The Cello Symphony and Curlew River (1963–4); 22. Tippett: The Vision of Saint Augustine (1963–5); 23. Britten: Blake, Pushkin and the second Church Parable (1965-6); 24. Britten: from The Prodigal Son to Who are these children? (1967–9); 25. Tippett: The Knot Garden and Songs for Dov (1966–70); 26. Britten: From Owen Wingrave to Death in Venice (1970-3); 27. Tippett: Symphony No. 3, Piano Sonata No. 3 (1970–3); 28. Britten: the final compositions (1974–6); 29. Tippett: The Ice Break, and after (1973–80); 30. Tippett: Into the eighties (1980–9); Epilogue; Notes; Further reading; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Arnold Whittall's brilliant technical book on the music of Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett is really two books for the price of one." Opera Quarterly

"[Whittall's] book contains the most substantial writing on Tippett so far, while on Britten he provides an essential complement to Peter Evan's major study." Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher