Customer Reviews

Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge; The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

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At the time of this review the headnote of this listing does not, unfortunately, include the two rarities recorded on this CD: Britten's 'Occasional Overture' and 'Prelude and Fugue For 18-Part String Orchestra.' More about them later.

The two 'big' pieces here are among Britten's most loved works. He probably came to the most attention early in his career with the absolutely assured piece for string orchestra honoring his teacher, Frank Bridge, 'Variations of a Theme of Frank Bridge.' Until recent years Bridge's music had been rarely played, even in his own country. Fortunately that has been rectified in the past twenty years. The theme for the variations is from Bridge's 'Idyll,' Op. 6, No. 2 for string quartet. Britten rings the changes on this melody with, among other things, a march, Italian aria, 'bourrée classique,' Viennese waltz, moto perpetuo, funeral march, and a fugal finale. It has been recorded many times but nowhere with as much spirit and loving attention as in this performance by Britten specialist, Steuart Bedford, and the orchestra long associated with Britten's own Aldeburgh Festival, the English Chamber Orchestra. Recorded in 1992, it was originally released at full price on the now-defunct Collins Classics.

'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra,' Op. 34, a set of variations and a fugue on a theme of Henry Purcell, was written for an educational film in 1943. It had a spoken narration (not included in this performance) written by Britten's friend Eric Crozier, later librettist for 'Albert Herring' and (with E.M. Forster) 'Billy Budd.' It, too, has been recorded many times, with and without the spoken narration. This vibrant 1991 recording by Bedford leading the London Symphony Orchestra was also released on Collins Classics and we are fortunate it has been preserved and re-released at Naxos's budget price.

'Occasional Overture' (1946) is a 7 1/2 minute celebratory piece written for the opening of the BBC Third Programme. It is a festive work which remained unpublished until the 1980s. I'd never heard it before. It is minor Britten, but Britten nonetheless. There are elements that remind me a bit of his ballet, 'Prince of the Pagodas.' It is given a spirited performance by Bedford and the London Symphony. 'Prelude and Fugue for 18-Part String Orchestra' was written in 1943 for the Boyd Neel Orchestra, a superb string orchestra of the time. Its rather astringent tripartite opening is followed by a masterful fugue which features a solo line for each of the orchestra's eighteen string players. The work is closed out by a new version of the opening prelude, this time with its sections reversed.

This issue is for those who do not own satisfactory recordings of either of the well-known pieces here, or for those who do but are curious about the lesser-known works. No one buying this release will be disappointed.

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Scott Morrison

What makes this disc especially rewarding is the program. Rather than an obvious companion piece for the "Young Person's Guide," such as one of the other famous pedagogical works written with children in mind--"Carnival of the Animals," "Peter and the Wolf,"--we have another of Britten's most celebrated compositions ("Bridge Variations") and a far less familiar one ("Prelude and Fugue"), both of which illustrate Britten's ability to give older musical forms a modern sensibility. The lightweight, populist "Occasional Overture" (1946), then, might seem an afterthought. Consider it instead the curtain raiser--which is what an overture is.

The two sets of variations invite interesting comparisons and contrasts, making it all the more puzzling they aren't frequent discmates. But only a few rival CDs offer the two works together. The "Bridge Variations," for string orchestra, may be more modestly conceived than the grand "Variations on a Theme of Purcell," but it illustrates just as well Britten's amazing resourcefulness. Many of the variations are brilliant, witty transmogrifications of the original tune, and the entire work is as much a demonstration of what orchestral strings are capable of as the "Purcell Variations" is a showcase for the modern symphony orchestra.

The "Prelude and Fugue" (1943), much more rarely heard, hints in an oblique sort of way at Britten's later friendship and admiration for Shostakovich, who also paid homage to the musical form made famous by Bach. Britten's piece is especially expansive and technically astute, but like the best of Britten, it wears its learning lightly.

This collection originally appeared on Collins Classics, and we can thank Naxos for making it available now that the former label is no more. The LSO is in fine form under the direction of Steuart Bedford, who's renowned for his advocacy of English music, especially Britten, and these performances leave me wanting to hear more, much more, from him. The recording is excellent, bordering on the demonstration class. A first-class Britten sampler made even nicer by the Naxos price.