Sir Peter Pears

about

Peter Pears From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Peter Pears Born 22 June 1910 Farnham, Surrey, England Died 3 April 1986 (aged 75) Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England Occupation tenor Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE (pronounced /ˈpɪərz/ "peerz";[1] 22 June 1910 – 3 April 1986) was an English tenor and the life partner of the composer Benjamin Britten. He was born at Farnham, and educated at Lancing College. He went on to study music at Keble College, Oxford, serving as organist at Hertford College, but left without taking his degree. He later studied voice for two terms at the Royal College of Music. He claimed that it was hearing the tenor Steuart Wilson singing the Evangelist in Bach's St Matthew Passion which 'started me off'.[2] He met Britten in 1936, when he was a member of the BBC Singers.[3] Pears and Britten gave their first recital together in 1937 at Balliol College, Oxford University. In early 1939, Britten and Pears left for America together as conscientious objectors when the outbreak of war between Great Britain and Germany became inevitable. There, in 1940, Britten composed Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, the first of many song cycles for Pears. Upon their return to England in 1942, they performed this song cycle at Wigmore Hall on 23 September[4], and then recorded them for EMI, their first recording together. Many of Britten's works contain a main tenor role written specifically for Pears. These include the Nocturne, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and String

top songs

albums

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Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex

Britten: War Requiem

Peter Pears - Anniversary Tribute

Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn and strings; Les Illuminations; Nocturne

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Peter Pears & Benjamin Britten: Performances in Leningrad (Live)

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Britten Conducts Britten Vol.4

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Britten: Peter Grimes

Britten: Folksongs

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English Song

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Puccini: Turandot

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Schubert: Winterreise

Britten: Death in Venice

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