2 min listen
Garth Greenwell on Finding Refuge in the Music of Britten and Pears
Garth Greenwell on Finding Refuge in the Music of Britten and Pears
ratings:
Length:
20 minutes
Released:
Apr 15, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
By now, Garth Greenwell is an award-winning author, poet, literary critic, and teacher of writing whose novels include “What Belongs To You” and “Cleanness.” But his first creative aspiration was as a musician: He attended the Interlochen Academy for the Arts and, later, the Eastman School of Music, focusing on vocal performance. In this episode, Greenwell recalls his introduction to music and meditates on his identity as a gay man growing up in rural Kentucky. A high school choir teacher gave Greenwell his first vocal lessons and directed him to the music of Benjamin Britten as performed by Britten’s partner, Peter Pears. Despite the grim themes of their song cycle “Winter Words,” Greenwell listened to this music over and over again, finding within it his first example of queer love. Greenwell writes about books, music, and more at his substack To A Green Thought.This episode contains a discussion of sexuality-based discrimination and a quote of a homophobic slur. Listener discretion is advised.This recording of Benjamin Britten’s Winter Words is performed by tenor Peter Pears in the 1972 Decca album “Britten, Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten – Winter Words / Seven Sonnets Of Michelangelo.”
Released:
Apr 15, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (48)
Introducing: The Open Ears Project: Which piece of music speaks to your soul? Each bite-sized episode of The Open Ears Project introduces you to a new classical work and offers a brief and soulful glimpse into a human life, helping us to listen to this music—and each other—differently. The Open Ears Project is produced by WQXR and WNYC Studios. You can follow the project starting on day 1 by subscribing to our newsletter and following #OpenEarsProject on Instagram and Twitter. by The Open Ears Project