Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous

Who was Benjamin Britten? Pianist and Composer of Music. Date and Place of Birth: 22nd November 1913, 21 Kirkley Cliff Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England. Family Background: Fourth child and son of a dentist. Education: Studied the piano under Harold Samuel and composition under Frank Bridge. Received a scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he studied under John Ireland. Chronology: 1919: Begins composing in earnest. 1928: Studies composition with Frank Bridge before going to college. 1930: Goes up to the Royal College of Music. Authorities refuse him permission to go to Vienna to study with Alban Berg 1931: Wins Farrar Prize for composition. 1933: Meets Arnold Schoenberg. 1934: Death of his father. Meets peter Pears for the first time. 1935: Works with the General Post Office as a composer. Meets the poet W. H. Auden. 1936: Signs up with Boosey and Hawkes to publish his works. "Our Hunting Fathers" with text by W. H. Auden was performed at the Norwich Festival. Wrote music for "Night Mail" and "Coal Face" for the G.P.O film unit. 1937: Death of his mother. Major friendship with Peter Pears begins. Writes "Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge" for the Salzburg Festival. 1939: Visits U.S.A. with Pears. 1940: First performance of "Sinfonia da Requiem" given by Sir John Barbirolli at Carnegie Hall, New York. 1941: Awarded Library of Congress Medal for services to Chamber Music. 1942: Returns to England to live at Snape in Suffolk. Exempted from Military service as a conscientious objector. 1945: First performance at Saddler's Wells, London of the opera "Peter Grimes". 1948: First Aldeburgh Festival, created by Britten and the tenor Pears. 1952: Accompanied Peter Pears in a Schubert recital at the Salzburg Festival. He also conducted many works by Mozart, Bach, Elgar and Schumann. 1953: Created a Companion of Honour. 1956: Hears Gamelan music and visits a Japanese Noh Play for the first time. 1957: Elected honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and letters. 1960: Meets Shostakovich and Rostropovich. 1964: Given the Aspen Award. 1965: Appointed a member of the Order of Merit. Moves publishing house to Faber. 1967: Queen Elizabeth the Second opens the Maltings concert all at Snape. 1969: The Maltings burns down. 1970: The Maltings re-opens. 1973: Operation on his heart valve. 1974: Wins the Ravel Prize. 1976: Created a Life Peer. (The first msician to be so honoured). Musical Works: 1932: "Sinfonietta". 1933: "A Simple Symphony". 1936: "Our Hunting Fathers". 1937: "Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge". "A Boy was Born". "On this Island". 1940: "Sinfonia da Requiem". "Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo". "Paul Bunyan". 1941: "String Quartet No 1 1945: "Peter Grimes" (Opera)."Nine Holy Sonnets of John Donne". "String Quartet No 2". 1946: "The Rape of Lucretia" (Opera). "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra". 1947: "Albert Herring" (Opera). 1948: "The Beggars Opera". "Spring Symphony". 1949: "Let's Make an Opera" (Work for Children). 1951: “Billy Budd” (Opera). 1953: "Gloriana". (Opera). 1954: "The Turn of the Screw". (Opera). 1956: "The Prince of the Pagodas". 1960: “Midsummer Night's Dream”. (Opera). 1961: “War Requiem”. 1964: “Cello Symphony”. “Curlew River”. 1966: “The Burning Fiery Furnace”. 1968: “The Prodigal Son”. 1970: “Owen Wingrave” (Opera). 1973: “Death in Venice”. (Opera). 1976: "String Quartet No 3". 1979: "The Prince of the Pagodas". Marriage: Never married. Places of Interest: LONDON: Royal College of Music SUFFOLK: Aldeburgh Snape Maltings Date and Place of Death: 4th December 1976, The Red House, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England. Age at Death: 63. Site of Grave: Annexe of Aldeburgh Churchyard in a grave lined with reeds from the marshes of Snape by Bob and Doris Ling.