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Anybody else find Britten "difficult"?

monstrous lie

monstrous lie

Infinitely Baffled
I keep trying. I have a chum who thinks he's the bee's knees, but I find that trying to settle into one of his pieces is two steps forward and one back - or sometimes the converse of that! Why do I keep trying? It's because I can hear that there is clearly something of immense quality going on in there, but I find it hard to prise free. There is some remarkable string writing - in terms of textures and tones - in his string quartets, for example, but despite that I really don't find myself rushing to cram the disc into my CD player given a spare moment. And then there are things like "les Illuminations" or the Horn/Tenor serenade, where I have to force myself to stay put and listen (tip: put it on in the car). I find myself asking "did this man never hear a tune?"

Where is it going wrong, do you think? Are my expectations the wrong ones? Am I choosing the wrong "beginners' pieces"? Or is he just plain difficult?
ML
 
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I'm not averse to a some of the more challenging 20th Century Classical music, but I find most of Britten's work positively unpleasant.
 
Britten's music covers an unusually varied range of genres, styles and emotional Worlds. Personally I think he is one of the most skillful of 20th Century composers. For each major piece (especially the Operas) he is able within the first few bars to establish a unique and powerful soundworld that sets the emotional tone of the whole piece - I can't think of any other composer who does this as convincingly.

Some pieces are I think very approachable (e.g. Noye's Fludde, Young Person's Guide, Frank Bridge Variations, Peter Grimes, especially the Sea Interludes, parts of the War Requiem) while others are much tougher (e.g. Cello Symphony, String Quartets, Church Parables, and perhaps the later Operas).

For a quick dip into a range of different pieces (short extracts) try this - select the "mood" tab:

https://brittenpears.org/explore/benjamin-britten/music/audio-sampler/#iframemodal
 
I haven't really been able to get his string QTS, they haven't revealed themselves to me yet. But many of his other works are essential.... Always wonder why his violin concerto is not up there at the top of the repertoire alongside Shostakovich for c.20th violin concertos? That and Nocturne, and the 4 sea interludes + passacaglia are my favourites
 
monstrous lie said:
And then there are things like "les Illuminations" or the Horn/Tenor serenade, where I have to force myself to stay put and listen (tip: put it on in the car). I find myself asking "did this man never hear a tune?" Where is it going wrong, do you think?
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You're trying to force yourself. Honestly, if you've tried these pieces more than once or twice, and it's still a chore, PUT THEM AWAY and listen to stuff that pleases you. Maybe give them another try next New Year.

Life's too short to be trying to get into stuff that you feel you have to listen to because it's "highly regarded" or whatever....
 
The only Britten work I really enjoy is Peter Grimes, and a couple other of his operas are at least somewhat to my liking. Some works like the War Requiem I find deadly dull, and others like the string quartets I find ho-hum. I listen to pretty much every era and style of music, so I have concluded that Britten's non-operatic style isn't really for me. That's OK, I don't have to like everything.
 
JensenHealey said:
Or Sibelius? Or Bruckner? Neilsen? - Oh! I know it is mostly 'big' symphony stuff, but surely many people like it - or should explore it.
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Oh dear! My knowledge of these composers is quite slight, and I fear it will remain so if I attempt to jump in the deep end by listening to symphonies. I realise that to many music lovers, the symphony is the ultimate, the most sophisticated expression of musical creativity, so this will sound like a heresy : I'm afraid I don't really get on with them. Perhaps it is a matter of too many moving parts for my ear to tune in to, but I very soon find my senses fatigued and my attention wandering. By contrast, small ensemble music, including solo unaccompanied - both sung and played - sometimes has the power to bolt me to my seat and engage my full concentration.

I am grateful, though - to all contributors to this thread - for their considered and helpful suggestions - many thanks!
ML
 
formbypc said:
Life's too short to be trying to get into stuff that you feel you have to listen to because it's "highly regarded" or whatever....
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Todd A said:
That's OK, I don't have to like everything.
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Much sense here!
I think my worry is that I might be missing out on something which, if only the penny were to drop, I could get a lot of enjoyment from. Perhaps it is just not to be ...
ML
 
My wife was a Britten scholar so i had that advantage... she introduced me to the acoustic of the original Maltings recordings ... the earlier the better generally so the decca ones i guess, but the rebuilt Maltings

The decca world of Benjamin Britten was also a great selection if the abstruse stuff is too much

My wife and i went to a concert season there and the Maltings acoustic had been so wonderfully recreated captured and it was why Britten liked it

If you need to get into him Id try attending an amenable britten performance at the Maltings

my sixpence worth
 
I put Britten in the same category as Wagner - probably alright if you work hard enough at it - but little that appeals on casual listening & haven't got the patience to try harder when I can spend that time listening to something I do enjoy - such as Stravinsky which is hardly the easiest at first listen but it has grown on me quite quickly.
 
i might add the acoustic aspects of the early Britten performances etc were only revealed by my first Linn... so there was the whole fun of discovering the ambience of recordings i knew well ... but that was hifi i spose not music...
 
formbypc said:
You're trying to force yourself. Honestly, if you've tried these pieces more than once or twice, and it's still a chore, PUT THEM AWAY and listen to stuff that pleases you. Maybe give them another try next New Year.

Life's too short to be trying to get into stuff that you feel you have to listen to because it's "highly regarded" or whatever....
Click to expand...

Yep. I don't waste any time on Scriabin nowadays.
 
Britten is hard to enjoy listening to [for many], and even harder to play! Walton is also very hard to play, but at least when you get it right it “feels” right!

I once played the Four Sea Interludes in an amateur performance in Gloucester Cathedral. Probably the place simply devoured the music in its cavernous [and very poor for any orchestral music] acoustic, but even in the much cleaner acoustic of the Chapter House the music was immensely difficult to get into a clean ensemble at rehearsal. BUT at least in these four fairly short pieces we catch a sight of Britten’s mastery, even if I personally could never actually claim to like it at all. Other Britten I played included the Sinfonietta, Noye’s Fludde, and the the ubiquitous Young Person’s Guide To the Orchestra. When I played this last piece mentioned, I was privileged to sit next to a former first double bassist [retired by then] from the Royal Opera House [Covent Garden], and he probably spoiled it a bit for me in his acidic comments on the composer and he pointed out many potentially unpleasant things in the music that I was far too busy trying to play to notice!

He had played under Britten in his younger days, and I think he had no affection for the composer at all, though like all professional players, you would have never noticed from his actual playing.

I think is is fair to say that Britten is one of those Marmite composers. It is quite fine to admit that you don’t like his music or get it, but I would personally be cautious of being too critical of its integrity or expressive power. For me Britten falls into a short list of composers I gave up quite a long time ago. Scriabin is another. The more I understood of it the less I could find attractive.

ATB from George
 
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