johnalison
Well-known member
Benjamin Britten was a precocious talent. There is a story of him being taken to a performance of Beethoven's seventh symphony at the age of fourteen, not having ever heard it before, in those pre-LP days. On return to home or school, whichever it was, he then proceeded to play the symphony though on the piano. I'm not sure how true oraccurate the account is but it is probably partly true, which is remarkable enough. He then ended up at the RCM under John Ireland, who was a fine composer but very conservative. They got on together like a bucket of dry ice.So you think the suggested sea-lock by the Martello Tower wouldn't have been popular?
Just off topic: I spent 16 years on the Aldeburgh Town Council (12yrs + 4yrs). It was proposed by ( I think by County Council, could be wrong)
to install a statue of Benjamín Britten in the churchyard. This didn't go down too well. Plenty of memorials to him, other people buried there, etc. Someone timidly suggested a bird bath would be a better installation.
A few days after this I was seated on the pavement in a queue for The Proms, Albert Hall, with a load of College of Music students. Couple of tutors came along chatting, asked me where I was from. Aldeburgh...argh. The place that would sooner have a bird bath than a statue of Ben Britten.
It got picked up by International Press and went Worldwide. Town Council got written letters from Japan.
Didnt get the Statue, or the bird-bath.