Benjamin Britten Centenary

Yesterday while Boomers wallowed in their death memories of fifty years ago, the English led global celebrations of gay genius Benjamin Britten's 100th birthday, with the BBC reporting more than 100,000 children worldwide sang from the composer's work on Friday afternoon. See more at Britten 100 or hop over to The Red House, the Aldeburgh place he shared with Peter Pears for twenty years which is now home to the Britten Pears Foundation. Read appreciations at The Telegraph ("how he proved the sneerers wrong") or The Guardian (from Marion Thorpe, a friend for forty years) and get Neil Powell's gay-inclusive biography published three months ago, Benjamin Britten: A Life for Music [Kindle]. For more personal memories, try Ronald Blythe's really lovely new book, The Time by the Sea: Aldeburgh, 1955-1958 [Kindle].