For Benjamin Britten, the key of A major consistently represented innocence and beauty, as seen in works like 'Aube' from Les Illuminations, Young Apollo, and Peter Grimes.
Composition History
The earliest pieces on this album date from 1930, the year Benjamin Britten, at age sixteen, entered the Royal College of Music.
Composition History
Benjamin Britten's Clarinet Concerto remained unfinished and unperformed until 1990, when Colin Matthews edited the surviving first movement for performance.
Historical Context
In 1942, US customs authorities confiscated Benjamin Britten's music manuscripts, including a draft of his Clarinet Concerto, suspecting the musical notation was coded information.
Composition History
Benjamin Britten's In memoriam Dennis Brain, a piece for four horns, strings, and percussion, was sketched in January 1958 in memory of the celebrated horn-player Dennis Brain, who died in a car accident.
Recording & Production
The recording of Les Illuminations on this album includes three songs that Benjamin Britten discarded from the original cycle, presented here with orchestrations completed by Colin Matthews.
Composition History
Benjamin Britten's Rondo concertante for piano and strings was composed between October 6-13, 1930, early in his first term at the Royal College of Music.
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