- Winton Dean
Winton Dean (b Birkenhead,
18 March 1916 ) is an English musicologist of the 20th century, most famous for his research concerning the life and works—in particular theopera s andoratorio s—of the Baroquecomposer George Frideric Handel , as detailed in his book "Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques" (1959). After an education at Harrow and Cambridge, Dean became notable was a writer on music, particularly after World War II, when he published several works concerning the compositions ofGeorge Bizet . Handel, however, remained his main focus and apart from the book already mentioned he also published "Handel and the Opera Seria" (Berkeley, 1969), and a more general "Essays on Opera" (Oxford, 1990, 2/1993).Dean contributed heavily to a number of musicological publications, including "Musical Times" and "Opera". Dean's writings also include works on the topic of
French Opera , and alsoItalian Opera before the dominance of Verdi. His reputation, however, has been largely forged by his study of Handel's works, and "Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques" is widely acknowledged as a seminal work not only in Handel scholarship but also in musicology as a whole as a result of its detailed analysis of original documents and thorough approach to the topic.References
Stanley Sadie: "Dean, Winton", "Grove Music Online" ed L. Macy (Accessed 11 December 2006), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] , subscription access.
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