Britten: Sinfonietta / Serenade / Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal / Nocturne

Featuring

Osmo Vänskä
Christoph Prégardien
Ib Lanzky-Otto
Hanna Juutilainen
Harri Mäki
Tommi Mentu

Bridget Allaire-Mäki
Pasi Pihlaja
Kirsi Kiviharju
Juho Vartiainen
Tapiola Sinfonietta
Benjamin Britten

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Composition History

The solo parts of Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings were composed for Peter Pears, a singer, and Dennis Brain, a phenomenal hornist who was already famous at 22.

Compositional Technique

In the Serenade, the horn's outer movements form a prologue and epilogue, with the epilogue played offstage and the horn using only natural notes, intentionally sounding 'wrong' to ears accustomed to equal temperament.

Composer Biography

Benjamin Britten, the composer, was 18 years old and finishing his studies at the Royal College of Music in London when he wrote his Sinfonietta, Op. 1.

Historical Context

Britten and singer Peter Pears, both pacifists, remained in the United States for three years after war broke out in 1939, during which time Britten's musical language developed and deepened.

Composition History

Britten's Sinfonietta, Op. 1, was not his first composition; he had been writing music for two-thirds of his life by then, but considered this his first publishable work.

Composition History

Britten dedicated his Nocturne, Op. 60, to Alma Mahler, then nearly 80, as an homage to her husband, Gustav Mahler, whose atmospheric musical style influenced Britten.

Compositional Technique

Britten's Sinfonietta, Op. 1, was perceived as extremely modern by his contemporaries, drawing comparisons to Arnold Schoenberg's first Chamber Symphony due to its acerbic harmonic language and unified material.