Benjamin Britten the apex of his reputation: it was almost universally hailed as a masterpiece." Shostakovich told Rostropovich that he believed it to be "the greatest work of the twentieth century". In 1967 the BBC commissioned Britten to write an opera specially for television. "Owen Wingrave" was based, like "The Turn of the Screw", on a ghost story by Henry James. By the 1960s Britten found composition much slower than in his prolific youth; he told the 28-year-old composer Nicholas Maw, "Get as much done now as you can, because it gets much, much more difficult as you grow older." He did
James Baker (composer) James Baker (composer) James Baker is an American electro-acoustic composer, percussionist and conductor. James Baker graduated with degrees in music from SUNY Purchase and Juilliard, where he studied percussion and conducting. He began a long time collaboration with choreographer Tere O'Connor and has composed numerous works for Tere O'Connor Dance, including Bessie Award winner "Heaven Up North". He was also the composer for "Like Two Kevins" for the Lyon Opera Ballet. His works have been performed internationally. Baker works as Principal Percussionist for the New York City Ballet Orchestra and serves as director of the Percussion Ensemble at the New