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Welcome to <strong>Barbican</strong> <strong>Britten</strong><br />
At the climax of Benjamin <strong>Britten</strong>’s centenary<br />
year, this is a wide-ranging, thought-provoking<br />
examination of a composer who is central to the<br />
music of our time. Some composers’ reputations<br />
fade for a while after their death; <strong>Britten</strong>’s, on<br />
the contrary, has grown and grown. Alongside<br />
regular performances of his masterpieces and<br />
the international success of his operas, his work<br />
is now stimulating an increasing range of new<br />
responses from creative artists and performers.<br />
Over these two weeks we highlight bold new<br />
directions in <strong>Britten</strong> interpretation, and we are<br />
delighted to present Richard Alston Dance<br />
Company’s radical interpretations of <strong>Britten</strong>’s<br />
vocal works, Les illuminations, Phaedra and<br />
Sechs Hölderlin Fragmente, Netia Jones’s<br />
innovative staging of the church parable<br />
Curlew River with tenor Ian Bostridge; and<br />
concerts with <strong>Britten</strong> Sinfonia, <strong>The</strong> <strong>Sixteen</strong><br />
and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (who<br />
take us to the Royal Albert Hall for the War<br />
Requiem, and back here for Albert Herring).<br />
At the heart of the season is the Illuminating<br />
<strong>Britten</strong> weekend – an unmissable three days<br />
<strong>Barbican</strong> Classical Music Podcasts<br />
For more information about <strong>Barbican</strong> <strong>Britten</strong>, and to listen<br />
to our other <strong>Barbican</strong> <strong>Britten</strong> podcasts, visit www.barbican.<br />
org.uk/britten.<br />
Available on iTunes, Soundcloud and the <strong>Barbican</strong> website<br />
curated by <strong>Britten</strong> expert John Bridcut and<br />
generously supported by the <strong>Britten</strong>–Pears<br />
Foundation. Discussions, presentations, films,<br />
readings and music, with a wide range of<br />
speakers debating some of the controversial<br />
issues in <strong>Britten</strong>’s life and legacy, will allow us to<br />
see <strong>Britten</strong> anew and deepen our understanding<br />
of his work. A new drama by Iain Burnside,<br />
Journeying Boys, completes the weekend.<br />
This season demonstrates so much of what<br />
we want the <strong>Barbican</strong> to be: providing worldclass<br />
arts and learning for all, working closely<br />
with our artistic partners and the Guildhall<br />
School of Music & Drama. We are using the<br />
full range of superb venues that now surround<br />
us in this outstanding cultural area – from<br />
the Guildhall School’s new Milton Court to<br />
the <strong>Barbican</strong> Hall, <strong>The</strong>atre and cinemas,<br />
and the Church of St Giles Cripplegate – to<br />
produce a unique celebration of a genius.<br />
Enjoy the rich variety of <strong>Barbican</strong> <strong>Britten</strong>!<br />
Sir Nicholas Kenyon<br />
Managing Director, <strong>Barbican</strong> Centre<br />
3 Introduction
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