People
Arne Muus, Christ Church
In my doctoral thesis I am looking at the particular use of motives in Britten’s operas, exploring to what extent they draw on Wagnerian and post-Wagnerian leitmotif technique but also demonstrating the underappreciated influence of Alban Berg’s innovations in this field. As well as locating Britten within the framework of motivic composition in opera, my thesis investigates through various case studies the impact which his approach has on our understanding and interpretation of his works, and how his handling of motivic material evolved over the course of his compositional career. My thesis is funded by the Arts and the Humanities Research Council and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and supervised by Prof. Jonathan Cross. I have also given papers at the 2008 Britten Study Day at the University of East Anglia and the Third Biennial Conference of the North American British Music Studies Association in Toronto.
Publications list:
'"The Minstrel Boy to the War is Gone": Father figures and fighting sons in Britten's Owen Wingrave', in Lucy Walker (ed.), Benjamin Britten: New Perspectives on his Life and Work (Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2009), pp. 97–115
Entry 'Pears, Sir Peter', Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 2nd ed., biographical series vol. 13 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2005), cols. 221-2
Programme notes for the Aldeburgh Festival, the Feldkirch Festival and various opera stages in Germany.