Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Baby Beni | 20250217 | 
Benjamin Britten was one of the most influential British composers of the 20th century, with celebrated works such as 'Peter Grimes', 'Friday Afternoons' or 'A Simple Symphony'. Music infused his very first moments in life and he started to develop his musical instincts from a very early age. Many of his future masterpieces can be traced back to the inspiration of his youth. This week, Donald Macleod explores these crucial early years in Britten's creative story, from his birth under the star of St Cecilia to his departure for America at 25 years old.
In this first episode, between the sounds of the sea and the singing afternoons with mother in 'heaven', we listen to the first musical experiments of a little prodigy from Suffolk.
Hymn to St Cecilia, Op 27
Four Sea Interludes, Op 33a (from 'Peter Grimes')
A Charm of Lullabies, Op 41 (arr for voice and orchestra by Colin Matthews)
Five Waltzes
Beware! Three Early Songs
On This Island, Op 11
Presented by Donald Macleod
This week Donald Macleod explores the early life of the British composer Benjamin Britten. An informative guide to composers' lives and their music. Between the sounds of the sea and the singing afternoons with mother in 'heaven', Donald Macleod listens to the first musical experiments of a little prodigy from Suffolk.
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| 02 | School-Bored | 20250218 |
Benjamin Britten was one of the most influential British composers of the 20th century, with celebrated works such as 'Peter Grimes', 'Friday Afternoons' or 'A Simple Symphony'. Music infused his very first moments in life and he started to develop his musical instincts from a very early age. Many of his future masterpieces can be traced back to the inspiration of his youth. This week, Donald Macleod explores these crucial early years in Britten's creative story, from his birth under the star of St Cecilia to his departure for America at 25 years old.
In this second episode, young Benjamin isn't particularly happy at school, but he is about to meet his musical hero, which will prove to be a turning point in his composing life...
Psalm 150, Op 67
Quatre chansons françaises
Suite for harp in C major, Op 83
A Hymn to the Virgin
A Walden Trio: Christmas Song of the Women
The Birds
Twelve Variations on a Theme, for piano
Presented by Donald Macleod
Musical ambitions and extravagant lessons: Donald Macleod explores Britten's school years. An informative guide to composers' lives and their music. Young Benjamin isn't particularly happy at school but he is about to meet his musical hero, which will prove to be a turning point in his composing life. With Donald Macleod.
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| 03 | The Power of Invention | 20250219 |
Benjamin Britten was one of the most influential British composers of the 20th century, with celebrated works such as 'Peter Grimes', 'Friday Afternoons' or 'A Simple Symphony'. Music infused his very first moments in life and he started to develop his musical instincts from a very early age. Many of his future masterpieces can be traced back to the inspiration of his youth. This week, Donald Macleod explores these crucial early years in Britten's creative story, from his birth under the star of St Cecilia to his departure for America at 25 years old.
In this third episode, young Britten is now immersed in the London life, thrilled to attend concerts and hoping to get his own music performed. But how to get his big breakthrough?
Three Divertimenti for String Quartet
Sinfonietta, Op 1
Phantasy, Op 2, for oboe, violin, viola and violoncello
Holiday Diary, Op 5 – suite for piano
A Boy Was Born, Op 3
Simple Symphony, Op 4
Presented by Donald Macleod
Britten discovers it wont be easy for an aspiring composer in London. With Donald Macleod. An informative guide to composers' lives and their music. Young Britten is now immersed in the London life, thrilled to attend concerts and hoping to get his own music performed. But, asks Donald Macleod, how to get his big breakthrough?
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| 04 | Sound Awake | 20250220 |
Benjamin Britten was one of the most influential British composers of the 20th century, with celebrated works such as 'Peter Grimes', 'Friday Afternoons' or 'A Simple Symphony'. Music infused his very first moments in life and he started to develop his musical instincts from a very early age. Many of his future masterpieces can be traced back to the inspiration of his youth. This week, Donald Macleod explores these crucial early years in Britten's creative story, from his birth under the star of St Cecilia to his departure for America at 25 years old.
A Viennese trip, a personal loss, and a new career in film where he'll make an important friend... In this fourth episode, we follow a passionate and political Britten in his early twenties.
Mont Juic (co-composed with Lennox Berkeley)
Friday Afternoons (excerpts)
Suite for Violin and Piano, Op 6
Train Sequence, from 'The King's Stamp'
Percussion Sequence, from 'Night Mail' (text by W.H. Auden)
Love Music, from 'Love from a Stranger'
Russian Funeral [or War and death, an impression for brass orchestra]
Soirées musicales, Op 9
Presented by Donald Macleod
Donald Macleod sees how Benjamin Britten finds a fresh composing breath in...cinema. An informative guide to composers' lives and their music. A Viennese trip, a personal loss, and a new career in film where he'll make an important friend... Donald Macleod follows a passionate and political Britten in his early twenties.
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| 05 | Goodbye Britten | 20250221 |
Benjamin Britten was one of the most influential British composers of the 20th century, with celebrated works such as 'Peter Grimes', 'Friday Afternoons' or 'A Simple Symphony'. Music infused his very first moments in life and he started to develop his musical instincts from a very early age. Many of his future masterpieces can be traced back to the inspiration of his youth. This week, Donald Macleod explores these crucial early years in Britten's creative story, from his birth under the star of St Cecilia to his departure for America at 25 years old.
Donald Macleod follows young Britten at a time of change: he buys a new house in his beloved Suffolk, meets an influential singing friend, and thinks about new adventures abroad...
Two Lullabies:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op 64
Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op 10
The Company of Heaven
Piano Concerto, Op 13
Les Illuminations, Op 18 (on poems by Arthur Rimbaud)
Presented by Donald Macleod
Donald Macleod follows a successful but tormented Britten as he finds a home in Aldeburgh. An informative guide to composers' lives and their music. Donald Macleod follows young Britten at a time of change: he buys a new house in his beloved Suffolk, meets an influential singing friend, and thinks about new adventures abroad...
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| 2010 | 01 | 20101115 | 20120123 (R3) | Donald Macleod reveals some of the wealth of music English composer Benjamin Britten wrote during his remarkably successful career in the light of two enduring influences - his life partner, the tenor Peter Pears and his beloved native county of Suffolk. The BBC helped advance Britten's career by broadcasting two chamber pieces he had composed while still a student at the Royal College of Music. He was soon writing soundtracks for the GPO Film Unit as well as incidental music for the theatre, TV and radio. In programme 1, Donald introduces music from those early years including one of Britten's best known soundtracks for the GPO - 'Night Mail', and two works written during his wartime years in America - the Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, written for Pears, and his first opera, based on the story of the mythological lumberjack, Paul Bunyan. Donald Macleod presents music from early in Britten's career. | |
| 2010 | 02 | 20101116 | 20120124 (R3) | The first ever Aldeburgh Festival took place in June 1948. Donald Macleod introduces part of Britten's cantata St Nicholas, premiered on the opening night, plus extracts from two operas, both set in Suffolk - the dark tale of Peter Grimes, set in a fishing village based on Aldeburgh and the comedy Albert Herring, about a socially inept young man destined to be crowned May King. Donald Macleod presents part of Britten's cantata St Nicholas, plus two of his operas. | |
| 2010 | 03 | 20101117 | 20120125 (R3) | By 1952, when the Aldeburgh Festival was in its 5th year, Britten was nearing forty. By then, he and Pears were very much part of the fabric of the community there. Donald Macleod introduces Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac, which was premiered at the festival that year, extracts from two more operas - the first based on Henry James' ghostly novella Turn of the Screw and the second on Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, plus another fairy-tale work - the ballet Prince of the Pagodas, complete with magical evocation of the Balinese gamelan. Donald Macleod introduces Britten's Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac. | |
| 2010 | 04 | 20101118 | 20120126 (R3) | In September 1960, Britten had the good fortune to meet the Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich who became a close friend and inspiration behind five works for cello, and a song cycle for him and his wife, the singer Galina Vishnevskaya. In the fifth programme, Donald introduces the final song from the cycle - The Poet's Echo - together with part of the Cello Suite No.2, plus an extract from the intensely moving War Requiem and the second of Britten's church parables, The Burning Fiery Furnace. Donald Macleod introduces the final song from Britten's cycle The Poet's Echo. | |
| 2010 | 05 LAST | 20101119 | 20120127 (R3) | Britten had struggled with ill health throughout his life. He put off much needed heart surgery in order to complete his final opera, Death in Venice, premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1973. In the fifth programme Donald Macleod introduces an extract from that work which features the last major role he would write for his life partner Peter Pears, plus a movement from one of his rare late chamber works, the string quartet no.3, and a complete performance of his dramatic cantata Phaedra, sung by its dedicatee, Janet Baker. Donald Macleod on Britten's late works, including his final opera, Death in Venice. | |
| 2017 | 01 | Frank And Henry | 20170130 | Few composers have cast such a long shadow over a nation's musical consciousness as Benjamin Britten. Born in 1913 in the seaside town of Lowestoft in Suffolk, Britten was the first of his generation to attain international recognition; while at home his music breathed new life into the cultural fabric of post-war Britain. An accomplished pianist and conductor, he re-established 'English' opera with the overwhelming success of 'Peter Grimes', first heard in 1945. Together with his partner in life and music, the tenor Peter Pears, he founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948. The level of recognition Britten achieved is all the more remarkable because in 1948 he was still only 35! Across the week Donald Macleod explores these formative years. It's a rich seam of music to mine, with works including Les Illuminations, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Sinfonia da Requiem. The week concludes with excerpts from Peter Pears's acclaimed recording of Peter Grimes and the triumphal conclusion of Britten's Spring Symphony, premiered in 1949 by Pears and the contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Donald Macleod begins his survey with three enduring influences on Britten: his musically inclined mother, his first significant composition teacher, Frank Bridge, whom he met when he was barely in his teens, and the 17th-century English composer Henry Purcell, to whom he paid tribute in The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Dawn (Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes) Flanders Symphony Orchestra Jan Latham-Koenig, conductor Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, Op 10 (excerpt) Camerata Nordica Terje Tønnesen, conductor Quatre Chansons Fran瀀aises Felicity Lott, soprano English Chamber Orchestra Steuart Bedford, conductor Purcell, arr Britten Chacony for Strings in G minor Chamber Orchestra of Europe The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op 34 London Symphony Orchestra Benjamin Britten, conductor. Donald Macleod focuses on three enduring influences on Britten. | |
| 2017 | 02 | Young And Stupid | 20170131 | Few composers have cast such a long shadow over a nation's musical consciousness as Benjamin Britten. Born in 1913 in the seaside town of Lowestoft in Suffolk, Britten was the first of his generation to attain international recognition; while at home his music breathed new life into the cultural fabric of post-war Britain. An accomplished pianist and conductor, he re-established 'English' opera with the overwhelming success of 'Peter Grimes', first heard in 1945. Together with his partner in life and music, the tenor Peter Pears, he founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948. The level of recognition Britten achieved is all the more remarkable because in 1948 he was still only 35! Across the week Donald Macleod explores these formative years. It's a rich seam of music to mine, with works including Les Illuminations, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Sinfonia da Requiem. The week concludes with excerpts from Peter Pears's acclaimed recording of Peter Grimes and the triumphal conclusion of Britten's Spring Symphony, premiered in 1949 by Pears and the contralto Kathleen Ferrier. In part two, Donald Macleod charts Britten's first steps as a professional composer, keen to make a name for himself after graduating from the Royal College of Music. Night Mail (end sequence, excerpt) Simon Russell Beale, narrator Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Martyn Brabbins, conductor Our Hunting Fathers, Op 8 (Epilogue and Funeral March) Ian Bostridge, tenor Britten Sinfonia Daniel Harding, conductor Karina Gauvin, soprano Les Violons du Roy Jean-Marie Zeitouni, conductor Piano Concerto in D major, Op 13 (first movement) Steven Osborne, piano BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Ilan Volkov, conductor Tell Me the Truth about Love Della Jones, mezzo-soprano Steuart Bedford, piano. Donald Macleod charts Britten's first steps as a professional composer. | |
| 2017 | 03 | Across The Pond | 20170201 | Few composers have cast such a long shadow over a nation's musical consciousness as Benjamin Britten. Born in 1913 in the seaside town of Lowestoft in Suffolk, Britten was the first of his generation to attain international recognition; while at home his music breathed new life into the cultural fabric of post-war Britain. An accomplished pianist and conductor, he re-established 'English' opera with the overwhelming success of 'Peter Grimes', first heard in 1945. Together with his partner in life and music, the tenor Peter Pears, he founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948. The level of recognition Britten achieved is all the more remarkable because in 1948 he was still only 35! Across the week Donald Macleod explores these formative years. It's a rich seam of music to mine, with works including Les Illuminations, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Sinfonia da Requiem. The week concludes with excerpts from Peter Pears's acclaimed recording of Peter Grimes and the triumphal conclusion of Britten's Spring Symphony, premiered in 1949 by Pears and the contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Feeling artistically stifled and restless, in 1939 Britten decided to move to America. A few months after he arrived, the Second World War broke out. For Britten, an avowed pacifist, news of the situation back in Britain created a confusing and conflicted period in his life. String Quartet No 1 in D major, Op 25 (2nd movement) Takacs Quartet Violin Concerto, Op 15 (1st movement) Tasmin Little, violin BBC Philharmonic Edward Gardner, conductor Since She Whom I Loved (The Holy Sonnets of John Donne) James Gilchrist, tenor Anna Tilbrook, piano Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Libor Peek, conductor A Hymn to St Cecilia Choir of King's College, Cambridge Stephen Cleobury, director. Donald Macleod focuses on Britten's activities during his years in America. | |
| 2017 | 04 | For Peter | 20170202 | Few composers have cast such a long shadow over a nation's musical consciousness as Benjamin Britten. Born in 1913 in the seaside town of Lowestoft in Suffolk, Britten was the first of his generation to attain international recognition; while at home his music breathed new life into the cultural fabric of post-war Britain. An accomplished pianist and conductor, he re-established 'English' opera with the overwhelming success of 'Peter Grimes', first heard in 1945. Together with his partner in life and music, the tenor Peter Pears, he founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948. The level of recognition Britten achieved is all the more remarkable because in 1948 he was still only 35! Across the week Donald Macleod explores these formative years. It's a rich seam of music to mine, with works including Les Illuminations, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Sinfonia da Requiem. The week concludes with excerpts from Peter Pears's acclaimed recording of Peter Grimes and the triumphal conclusion of Britten's Spring Symphony, premiered in 1949 by Pears and the contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Today Donald Macleod looks at one of Britten's enduring artistic inspirations, the voice of his partner in life, the tenor Peter Pears. Trad. arr. Britten The Foggy, Foggy Dew Peter Pears, tenor Benjamin Britten, piano Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo Ian Bostridge, tenor Antonio Pappano, piano String Quartet No 2 in C major, Op 36 (1st movement) Takacs Quartet Robert Tear, tenor Dale Clevenger, horn Chicago Symphony Orchestra Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor. Donald Macleod explores the musical fruits of Britten's long partnership with Peter Pears. | |
| 2017 | 05 LAST | Back Home | 20170203 | Few composers have cast such a long shadow over a nation's musical consciousness as Benjamin Britten. Born in 1913 in the seaside town of Lowestoft in Suffolk, Britten was the first of his generation to attain international recognition; while at home his music breathed new life into the cultural fabric of post-war Britain. An accomplished pianist and conductor, he re-established 'English' opera with the overwhelming success of 'Peter Grimes', first heard in 1945. Together with his partner in life and music, the tenor Peter Pears, he founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948. The level of recognition Britten achieved is all the more remarkable because in 1948 he was still only 35! Across the week Donald Macleod explores these formative years. It's a rich seam of music to mine, with works including Les Illuminations, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Sinfonia da Requiem. The week concludes with excerpts from Peter Pears's acclaimed recording of Peter Grimes and the triumphal conclusion of Britten's Spring Symphony, premiered in 1949 by Pears and the contralto Kathleen Ferrier. Concluding this week's series, Donald Macleod finds Britten's opera Peter Grimes heralding a new dawn in British opera. Sunday Morning (Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Libor Peek, conductor Embroidery Aria (Peter Grimes, Act 3 Sc 1) Claire Watson, soprano, Ellen Orford James Pease, bass-baritone, Balstrode Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Benjamin Britten, conductor Finale (Peter Grimes, Act 3, Sc 2) James Pease, bass-baritone, Captain Balstrode Peter Pears, tenor, Peter Grimes Raymond Nilsson, tenor, Boles Owen Brannigan, bass, Swallow Jean Watson, contralto, Auntie Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Occasional Overture, Op 38 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Simon Rattle, conductor Canticle 1, Op 40 Philip Langridge, tenor Steuart Bedford, piano Spring Symphony, Op 44 (Part 4: Finale) Martyn Hill, tenor, Alfreda Hodgson, contralto Elizabeth Gale, soprano Senior Choirs of the City of London School for Girls and City of London School London Symphony Orchestra Richard Hickox, conductor. Donald Macleod explains how Britten's Peter Grimes heralded a new dawn in British opera. | |
| 2021 | 01 | The Fourth 'b'? | 20210628 | Donald Macleod explores the early musical life of Benjamin Britten. As a child, Britten's mother was certain of his destiny: he would be a musician, and not just an ordinary musician. A childhood friend recalled that `quite often we would talk about the 3 B's - Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.` Edith was determined that her son Benjamin should become the 4th B'. Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge LSO String Ensemble Roman Simovic, conductor Phantasy Quartet Endellion Quartet Nocturne (On This Island) Barbara Bonney, soprano Malcolm Martineau, piano Ballad of Heroes City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Simon Rattle, conductor Suite for Violin and Piano Tamsin Little, violin Piers Lane, piano Hymn to St Cecilia Voces8 | |
| 2021 | 02 | Britten And America | 20210629 | Donald Macleod follows Benjamin Britten to America. Britten wasn't necessarily intending to stay very long in the United States. The reception he got in Canada and then in Michigan, when he arrived in 1939, made him think that his future may indeed lie on the other side of the Atlantic. But as time went on, despite American friendship and support, his feelings became more conflicted. Calypso Della Jones, mezzo-soprano Steuart Bedford, piano Young Apollo for Piano and Strings Peter Donohoe, piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Simon Rattle, conductor Violin Concerto in D minor Sebastian Bohren, violin Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Andrew Litton, conductor An American Overture Ceremony of Carols The Sixteen Harry Christophers, conductor Sioned Williams, harp | |
| 2021 | 03 | Peter Grimes Country | 20210630 | Donald Macleod explores the Suffolk landscape that drew Britten back from America. It was a talk by EM Forster that did it. Although the ex-patriate Benjamin Britten wasn't able to hear Forster's talk on the wireless. He was then basking in the Southern Californian sunshine in Escondido, just north of San Diego, Somehow a copy of The Listener magazine reached him there: possibly his friend WH Auden had sent it from New York. In it was Forster's article about the 18th century poet George Crabbe who'd been born at Aldeburgh in Suffolk and whose poems were steeped in the atmosphere of that part of the east coast. A famous [poem of Crabbe's],` Forster wrote, `is Peter Grimes: he was a savage fisherman who murdered his apprentices and was haunted by their ghosts.` Britten was immediately transported to the misty, salt-tanged shingle beaches of Suffolk, echoing to the lonely calls of sea-birds. He felt a pang of homesickness, of nostalgia, of recognition, a feeling of where he ought to be. It was an epiphany. Britten said later: `In a flash I realised two things: that I must write an opera, and where I belonged and what I lacked.` Peter Grimes, Prologue Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Benjamin Britten, conductor Peter Grimes, `Old Joe has gone fishing` Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House Colin Davis, conductor Four Sea Interludes New York Philharmonic Orchestra Leonard Bernstein, conductor Dark Tower (extract) Oliver Cromwell (Folk Song Arrangements) Philip Langridge, tenor Graham Johnson, piano The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra English Chamber Orchestra Peter Grimes, `Embroidery in Childhood` Erin Wall, soprano Roderick Williams, baritone Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Edward Gardner, conductor | |
| 2021 | 04 | Our Own Festival | 20210701 | Donald Macleod looks back on the founding of Benjamin Britten's music festival at Aldeburgh. It was while travelling a long way from Suffolk, on their way to Switzerland, that Peter Pears is supposed to have said to Benjamin Britten: `Why don't we have a festival in Aldeburgh?` On the face of it, an eccentric idea to think you could have a music festival in that relatively awkward to get to corner of East Anglia, but the Aldeburgh Festival quickly established itself a great success. It rooted Britten ever more deeply in Suffolk, as well as providing an expression of his rootedness. Albert Herring, `Albert the Good` Christopher Gillett, tenor Northern Sinfonia Steuart Bedford, conductor Saint Nicolas (excerpt) Mark Le Brocq, tenor BBC Concert Orchestra Crouch End Festival Chorus Coldfall Primary School Choir David Temple, conductor Noye's Fludde, `It is good for to be still` Coull String Quartet Members of Endymion Ensemble and School's Orchestra Salisbury & Chester City of London Sinfonia Richard Hickox and David Horlock (conductors) Lachrymae (reflections on a song by John Dowland) Kim Kashkashian, viola Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra Dennis Russell Davies, conductor Canticle ii: Abraham and Isaac Jean Rigby, soprano Philip Langridge, tenor Steuart Bedford, piano Donald Macleod looks back on the founding of Benjamin Britten's festival at Aldeburgh. | |
| 2021 | 05 LAST | Continuity And Defiance | 20210702 | Donald Macleod explores Britten's War Requiem and the composer's friendship with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The War Requiem had actually been foreshadowed twice before. After the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1947, the writer Ronald Duncan had suggested to Britten that they collaborate on an oratorio, a piece that was to be called Mea Culpa. But there were problems over the commissioning of the piece and the idea foundered . The next year, following the death of Gandhi, Britten wrote to a friend saying how this had been a great shock to someone with his convictions and he was `determined to commemorate this occasion in, possibly, some form of Requiem to his honour. When I shall complete this piece I cannot say.` So when the Coventry arts committee approached him in the autumn of 1958, Britten was already primed. The success of the Requiem made Britten a national figure as never before. Nocturnal after John Dowland Sean Shibe, guitar War Requiem, Requiem aeternam London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Choir of Eltham College Gianandrea Noseda, conductor War Requiem, Sanctus Toby Spence, tenor Munich Philharmonic Orchestra Lorin Maazel, conductor Symphony for cello and orchestra Mstislav Rostropovich, cello English Chamber Orchestra Benjamin Britten, conductor Third Suite for Cello Matthew Barley, cello Death in Venice (excerpt) Philip Langridge, tenor City of London Sinfonia BBC Singers Richard Hickox, conductor String Quartet No.3 Endellion String Quartet Donald Macleod explores Britten's War Requiem and friendship with cellist Rostropovich. |