David Robertson on Britten's War Requiem

[mcouzijn]

IS this really the mainstream vision on the two *World* wars? 'Europe falling apart twice and (Europe) destroying what it had been building up for centuries'?

So the US, Asia and Africa were just bystanders? And the US simply came to the aid of Europe? (Not until the moment they had been attacked by the Japanese at the other side of the world)?

This is just a sidemark. For the rest I thorougly agree with Mr. Robertson.

[ckanowsk]

I think he's trying to view the piece, and the war that inspired it, from Britten's perspective, which would have been distinctly European.

Robertson is very concerned with the universality of the piece, but it's hard to deny that it was incubated in the bombed-out cities of Europe.