Review by Choice Review
The music of British composer Benjamin Britten is routinely heard in North American concert halls. A reference book on him should be welcomed. However, a volume that is solely a discography has few practical applications. Many of its entries are for old recordings no longer available or for recordings on esoteric or European labels difficult to obtain in the US. Although it is helpful that works without recordings are included, and first performances are noted, the book has shortcomings. Organization appears to be by opus number, but is really by date of composition. Sometimes the typed copy has great patches of white space between entries. The index is merely an alphabetized list of titles with some individual songs or pieces included and some not. There are no introductory remarks, no guides to medium or performers, no lists of record manufacturers, no bibliography, and no annotations. This discography is relatively complete, but there are no entries for the recordings (often with Britten at the piano) of Britten's many folk song arrangements. Since much of this book's useful information is available in other record guides, it can be recommended only to institutions catering to the most advanced level of scholarly music research. -J. L. Patterson, University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
