Masterworks - Britten Serenade with Ian Bostridge, Timothy Brown, Sir Colin Davis & BBCSO (Part 1/9)

Masterworks - Britten Serenade with Ian Bostridge, Timothy Brown Sir Colin Davis and BBC Symphony Orchestra (Part 1/9)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Masterworks
• Britten
• Serenade
• Ian
• Bostridge
• Timothy
• Brown
• Colin
• Davis
• BBC
• Symphony
• Orchestra

[jonjon1957jonjon]

So glad you are discovering Britten. War Requiem is a very important piece, I quiver whenever I get to play it. Les Illuminations is stunning. I conducted a recording of it with soprano Gill Gomez on EMI. Early variations on a theme by Frank Bridge is good. There is a lot to discover. Enjoy!

[lexo30]

@Hugh7777 I have finally listened to Peter Grimes, and it's a masterpiece all right. I love the War Requiem too - I listened to it while following the score a few nights ago and was blown away. I have the Spring Symphony, but haven't listened to it closely yet. The ones I keep coming back to are the Serenade and Les Illuminations (and Grimes and the Requiem, but they're an evening's listening whereas I can listen to the shorter works in my lunch hour.)

[Hugh7777]

Budd has now been wonderfully performed by bari-hunks Nathan Gunn and Teddy Tahu Rhodes (I don't think either has recorded it). Grimes is perhaps the hardest to empathise with because he has so little to recommend him, but the music is still wonderfully coherent. Of his other music the Spring Symphony is much underrated.

[Hugh7777]

@lexo30 All three are excellent, and you are in for three treats. The Turn of the Screw probably deviates from its original story most, because he couldn't leave the ghosts in the Governess's imagination (or are they?) as James does, but had to (dis)embody them and give them voices and words to sing, hinting at what went on before the Governess came. This Myfanwy Piper does, brilliantly.

[lexo30]

Yes, Winter Words is lovely stuff. I own Peter Grimes but have never had time to sit down and listen to it properly. I've never heard Billy Budd but am looking forward to hearing it at some point. (The one I think I'd really like is The Turn of the Screw, because I love the original story so much.)

[twistednot]

Are you familiar with his songs? I particularly like his settings of Thomas Hardy's ' Winter Words'. Two of my favourite operas are 'Peter Grimes' and 'Billy Budd'.

[lexo30]

Hear hear. I am fairly new to Britten, but am already in love with his work and this piece in particular. I can already imagine a DVD of this programme that would preserve the performances free of commentary, but which would also have the benefit of the wise comments of the artists involved.

[twistednot]

I have a very scratchy video of this wonderful programme - so it's lovely to see it here - let's hope the BBC will produce a DVD very soon....