Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft in 1913. His mother, a keen amateur singer, was thrilled that her youngest was born on 22 November: the feast day of St Cecilia, the patron saint of music. She hoped he would – after Bach, Beethoven and Brahms – become the ‘Fourth B’.
He did indeed become a global musical figure. In just 63 busy years Britten wrote some of the most appealing classical music of the twentieth century, was hailed as one of the all-time great opera composers, and – with his partner, the singer Peter Pears – performed around the world.
Britten was a progressive cultural figure too, ahead of his time on issues including pacifism, homosexuality and the role of artists in their communities.
