Creative Quotations from . . .
Benjamin Britten
(1913-1976) born on Nov 22
English composer. He was the leading British composer of the mid-20th C.; his operas are considered the finest English operas since Henry Purcell in the 17th century.
 
   
F
It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful. It has the beauty of loneliness & of pain: of strength & freedom."

R
The old idea . . . of a composer suddenly having a terrific idea and sitting up all night to write it is nonsense. Nighttime is for sleeping.
A
Music does not exist until it is performed.
N
"Composing is like driving down a foggy road toward a house. Slowly you see more details of the house the color of the slates and bricks, the shape of the windows. The notes are the bricks and the mortar of the house."
K
"[Music has] the beauty of disappointment & never-satisfied love. The cruel beauty of nature, & everlasting beauty of monotony."


Published Sources for the above Quotations:
F: "Letter, 29 June 193; in "Letters from a Life: Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten," vol. 1, "A Working Life," 1991."
R: "In "Life," 7 Aug 1964."
A: ""Benjamin Britten's World of Music.""
N: "In "Life," 7 Aug 1964."
K: "Letter, 29 June 193; in "Letters from a Life: Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten," vol. 1, "A Working Life," 1991."



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