Benjamin Britten: Top 20 Recordings
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Twenty outstanding recordings of Britten's music from John Wilson, Vilde Frang, Mstislav Rostropovich, Peter Pears and many more, including the composer himself
Benjamin Britten came of age in 1934, the year in which Elgar, Holst and Delius died. He rapidly dragged British music into another era – his own. By its very nature, no Top 20 list could hope to include all of the wonderful recordings of Britten's music that we have available to us today. But here is a selection of 20 outstanding recordings that are sure to offer many hours of listening pleasure. There is a mix of classic recordings (Britten's own recording of the War Requiem, for instance) and very recent releases, so there should be something new and interesting to discover for even long-time Britten devotees.
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The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra / Benjamin Britten (Decca)
‘This is Britten at his most immediately appealing, though his brisk account of the most popular piece of all, the Young Person's Guide, may startle some by its fierceness in relation to almost any other reading on record.’ (Edward Greenfield, January 1987)
Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge
‘English Music For Strings’
Sinfonia of London / John Wilson (Chandos)
‘Britten’s dazzling Frank Bridge Variations show us how it’s done, a spooky ability even in his youth to evoke so much from so little. You look at the page and think ‘how does he do that?’ The reach and invention come from an instinctive understanding of mood and atmosphere. The romantic enchantment of the Adagio, the swagger of the ‘Bourrée classique’, the fiery coloratura of ‘Alla italiana’ taken at an insanely showy lick. And the emotional heart of the piece – the ‘Funeral March’ – where the intensity of the searing upper reaches of the violins is at once a response to the drum-like throbbing of the basses.’ (Edward Seckerson, February 2021)
Cello Symphony. Sinfonia da Requiem
Mstislav Rostropovich vc Peter Pears ten Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau bar New Philharmonia Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra / Benjamin Britten (Decca)
‘As for the performance it is quite simply beyond praise. Rostropovich is so completely inside the music that one ceases to be aware whether what he is doing is difficult or not (much of it is) and the English Chamber Orchestra, under Britten's own direction; play with a rhythmic precision and a dynamic range that give every detail its due weight and character.’ (Jeremy Noble, December 1964)
Violin Concerto
Vilde Frang vn Frankfurt Radio Symphony / James Gaffigan (Warner Classics)
‘Frang refuses to undersell those passionate outbursts fuelled by the composer’s political and moral convictions during and after the Spanish Civil War. This is a remarkable rendition, at once spacious and tautly held together, cool where it needs to be but eminently emotive with just the right kind of ‘perilous sweetness’. The soloist’s tone is never remotely wiry or frayed and the harmonics are simply sensational.’ (David Gutman, February 2016)
Complete Works for Piano & Orchestra
Steven Osborne pf BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ilan Volkov (Hyperion)
‘Steven Osborne yields nothing to the great Sviatoslav Richter in the punchiness and fine-tuned filigree of his playing. No skating over the surface here, with Ilan Volkov and the BBC Scottish SO adept at teasing out the music’s symphonic subtext, as well as its piquant orchestral effects.’ (Arnold Whittall, October 2008)
Cello Suites and Cello Sonata
Mstislav Rostropovich vc Benjamin Britten pf (Decca)
‘Rostropovich remains the real heavyweight in the Britten Sonata, and equally in the two suites—don't forget, all three pieces were written for him—and the transfer to CD is remarkably successful.’ (Stephen Johnson, October 1989)
String Quartets Nos 1-3. Three Divertimenti
Doric String Quartet (Chandos)
‘The performances are all superbly judged and controlled, balancing fragility with strength, restraint with great depth of feeling. The opening of the First, with its high, ethereal phrases offset by worldly, guitar-like cello twangs, is rich with ambiguities, while the Andante calmo, its long violin solo played with exquisite poise by Alex Redington, grieves quietly for the war-torn England Britten left behind during his American sojourn.’ (Tim Ashley, May 2019)
Songs & Proverbs of William Blake and other songs
Gerald Finley bar Julius Drake pf (Hyperion)
‘[Finley] is excellent: the De la Mare mini-cycle Tit for Tat, the tall story of the wonderful crocodile, the hauntingly dissatisfied “Greensleeves”, the comedy pieces for deaf woman and bird-scarer. In all (including the Blake) Julius Drake is the superb pianist – and perhaps that should be transferred from last sentence to first.’ (John Steane, July 2010)
‘Unknown Britten’
Sandrine Piau sop Rolf Hind pf Michael Thompson, Richard Watkins, Peter Francomb & Chris Griffiths hns Michael Collins cl Northern Sinfonia / Thomas Zehetmair (NMC)
‘All the performances are superb. Sandrine Piau's stylish and imaginative interpretation of Les illuminations is one of the best soprano versions on disc, in fact. Michael Collins's easy virtuosity in the Clarinet Concerto is a joy. And throughout, Thomas Zehetmair elicits razor-sharp, sensitively shaped playing from the Northern Sinfonia. In short, this is one of the most important Britten recordings in many a year.’ (Andrew Farach-Colton, Awards issue, 2009)
Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings
Dennis Brain hn Peter Pears ten New Symphony Orchestra of London / Eugene Goossen (Decca Eloquence)
‘Some over the decades have disparaged Pears’s unique voice, Dudley Moore’s brilliant parody of both composer and singer notwithstanding. But even if it can still be thought of as an ‘acquired taste’, there is no doubt in my mind that he was one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century and this de initive and underrated recording is simply irreplaceable.’ (Geraint Lewis, Gramophone Collection, October 2020)
Les illuminations
Ian Bostridge ten Berliner Philharmoniker / Sir Simon Rattle (Warner Classics)
‘“I alone have the key to this savage sideshow” is the cycle’s refrain and Bostridge convinces you that he holds that magic key in a performance that’s nearly delirious in its intensity. No other singer makes the final song so heart-wrenching.’ (Andrew Farach-Colton, Gramophone Collection, March 2009)
A Ceremony of Carols & St Nicolas
Sally Pryce hp Katherine Watson sop Zoë Brown sop Allan Clayton ten Trinity College Choir Cambridge, City of London Sinfonia, Holst Singers & Temple Church Choristers / Stephen Layton (Hyperion)
‘Layton’s flowing speeds underline the dramatic sequence of the carols (which are so often cherry-picked and shoehorned into miscellaneous programmes). All the solo performances are impeccably shaped and harpist Sally Pryce makes light work of the fiendish accompaniments.’ (Malcolm Riley, December 2012)
War Requiem
Galina Vishnevskaya sop Peter Pears ten Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau bar Simon Preston org London Symphony Orchestra, Melos Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Highgate School Choir & The Bach Choir / Benjamin Britten (Decca)
‘One of the most celebrated commercial recordings ever made, this matchlessly authentic performance should be in every CD collection. The Decca production team convey Britten’s genius in full light with de initive performers who give of their all.’ (Geraint Lewis, Gramophone Collection, November 2022)
War Requiem
Heather Harper sop Philip Langridge ten John Shirley-Quirk bass-bar Martyn Hill ten Choristers of St Pau's Cathedral, London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Richard Hickox (Chandos)
‘If anybody comes close to matching Britten’s own authority it has to be the late Richard Hickox, who galvanises his LSO forces with such captivating power that it has all the fervour and immediacy of a live performance. The St Paul’s boys are matchless and it is moving to hear Heather Harper in maturity glowing with authority and conviction.’ (Geraint Lewis, Gramophone Collection, November 2022)
Albert Herring
Christopher Gillett ten Albert Herring Josephine Barstow sop Lady Billows Felicity Palmer contr Florence Pike Peter Savidge bar Mr Gedge Robert Lloyd bass Superintendent Budd Stuart Kale ten Mr Upfold Susan Gritton sop Miss Wordsworth Della Jones mez Mrs Herring Gerald Finley bar Sid Ann Taylor mez Nancy Yvette Bonner sop Emmie Témimé Bowling sop Cis Matthew Long treb Harry Northern Sinfonia / Steuart Bedford (Naxos)
‘Vivid as Hickox’s traversal of the score may be, Bedford’s is just that much more alert, crisper. With his long experience of Britten in the theatre, dating back to Death in Venice under the composer’s aegis, his timing carries unique authority and, in better sound than the old Decca set can now offer, he even has the edge over the composer’s obviously definitive reading. Bedford’s players are as much if not more accomplished than Hickox’s, and they are caught in a more immediate, less reverberant acoustic.’ (Alan Blyth, March 2003)
Billy Budd
Peter Glossop bar Billy Budd Peter Pears ten Captain Vere Michael Langdon bass John Claggart John Shirley-Quirk bar Mr Redburn Bryan Drake bar Mr Flint David Kelly bass Mr Ratcliffe Gregory Dempsey ten Red Whiskers David Bowman bar Donald Owen Brannigan bass Dansker Robert Tear ten Novice Robert Bowman ten Squeak Delme Bryn-Jones bar Bosun Eric Garrett bar First Mate Nigel Rogers ten Maintop Benjamin Luxon bar Novice’s Friend Geoffrey Coleby bar Arthur Jones Ambrosian Opera Chorus; London Symphony Orchestra / Benjamin Britten (Decca)
‘This was the last operatic recording John Culshaw produced for Decca and he again showed himself unsurpassed at creating a theatrical atmosphere in the studio. His use of stereo effects and his inspired balancing of voices and orchestra ensure that listeners at home feel that they are not merely observers of but participators in events aboard Indomitable in 1797.’ (Michael Kennedy, June 1989)
Peter Grimes
Stuart Skelton ten Peter Grimes Erin Wall sop Ellen Orford Roderick Williams bar Balstrode Susan Bickley mez Auntie Robert Murray ten Bob Boles Neal Davies bass-bar Swallow Catherine Wyn-Rogers mez Mrs Sedley Marcus Farnsworth bar Ned Keene James Gilchrist ten Rev Horace Adams Barnaby Rea bass Hobson Hanna Husáhr sop Niece I Vibeke Kristensen sop Niece II Edvard Grieg Choir; Royal Northern College of Music Chorus; Choir of Collegium Musicum; Bergen Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra / Edward Gardner (Chandos)
‘With such a large choice of preserved excellence – and no one has ever done a Grimes unless they really wanted to and felt the need (no routine here) – a final winner is impossible. You and your speakers and screen should at least be on terms with one of the Britten/Pears and Vickers/Davis versions, and don’t forget the strangely neglected Hickox/Langridge and Welser-Möst/Ventris (EMI DVD – nla) ones either. But let it be said that Gardner, Skelton and Chandos go straight to share the very top of the list, an exciting, committed, necessary and brilliantly recorded version for our times.’ (Mike Ashman, October 2020)
Death in Venice
Philip Langridge ten Gustav von Aschenbach Alan Opie bar Traveller, Elderly Fop, Old Gondolier, Hotel Manager, Hotel Barber, Leader of the Players, Voice of Dionysus Michael Chance counterten Voice of Apollo BBC Singers; City of London Sinfonia / Richard Hickox (Chandos)
‘The performance is beautifully played and recorded, and in its all-important central role reunites Hickox with Philip Langridge, so compelling in their earlier set of Peter Grimes.’ (Richard Fairman, May 2005)
The Turn of the Screw
Ian Bostridge ten Prologue, Peter Quint Joan Rodgers sop Governess Julian Leang treb Miles Caroline Wise sop Flora Jane Henschel sop Mrs Grose Vivien Tierney sop Miss Jessel Mahler Chamber Orchestra / Daniel Harding (Erato)
‘I must say that I was utterly absorbed by the new version and, given its masterly engineering and sense of atmosphere would, by a hair’s-breadth, prefer it to the Bedford among stereo recordings (and I have not forgotten the various merits of Sir Colin Davis’s version on Philips). The composer’s set remains both a historic document and – still – the most taut reading, but most will prefer and be satisfied with the conviction and the sound of this newcomer.’ (Alan Blyth, October 2002)
Gloriana
Josephine Barstow sop Queen Elizabeth I Philip Langridge ten Earl of Essex Della Jones mez Lady Essex Jonathan Summers bar Lord Mountjoy Alan Opie bar Sir Robert Cecil Yvonne Kenny sop Penelope Richard Van Allan bass Sir Walter Raleigh Bryn Terfel bass-bar Henry Cuffe Janice Watson sop Lady-in-waiting Willard White bass Blind ballad-singer John Shirley-Quirk bar Recorder of Norwich John Mark Ainsley ten Spirit of the Masque Peter Hoare ten Master of Ceremonies Welsh National Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Sir Charles Mackerras (Decca)
‘Mackerras has long been an admirer of the piece, conducting the revival that went to Vienna. He presents it here with the utmost conviction, drawing together the motivic strands of the score into a unified, coherent whole (not an altogether easy task), appreciating the contrast of the public and private scenes, exposing the raw sinews of the writing for the two principal characters, and drawing superb playing from his own WNO Orchestra.’ (Alan Blyth, July 1993)
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