Benjamin Britten's Sinfonietta was composed in 1932, at the age of 18, while he was a student at the Royal College of Music. It was first performed in 1933 at The Ballet Club, London conducted by Iris Lemare.[1] It was published as his Op. 1 and dedicated to his teacher Frank Bridge.
Instrumentation
The work was originally scored for five winds and five strings: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass. In February 1936, Britten revised the score for a small chamber orchestra with two horns and a small string section, which was only performed once during his lifetime. This version is available on hire from Boosey and Hawkes.[2]
Movements
A typical performance takes about 15 minutes. The movements are headed:
- Poco presto ed agitato
- Variations, andante lento
- Tarantella
The first movement is in sonata form. The writer, publisher and friend of Britten's Erwin Stein suggested that the work as a whole is modelled on the Chamber Symphony No. 1 of 1906 by Arnold Schoenberg.[3][4][5]
In 1937, before Britten departed for America, his friend W. H. Auden inscribed his poem "It's Farewell to the Drawing-room's Civilised Cry" on the fly-leaf of a miniature score of the Sinfonietta. Britten was touched by the gesture.[6]
References
- Notes
- ↑ Benjamin Britten: A Catalogue of the Published Works, 1999, p.15.
- ↑ "Benjamin Britten - Sinfonietta". www.boosey.com. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ↑ Carpenter 1992, pp. 43, 74
- ↑ Evans 1979, pp. 15–21
- ↑ Lamoreaux 2005
- ↑ Carpenter 1992, p. 90
- Sources
- Carpenter, Humphrey (1992). Benjamin Britten: A Biography. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-14324-5.
- Evans, Peter (1979). The Music of Benjamin Britten. London, Melbourne and Toronto: J. M. Dent & Sons. ISBN 0-460-04350-1.
- Lamoreaux, Andrea (2005). "Britten, Benjamin (1913-1976): Sinfonietta, Op. 1". EncoreCCM.org. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
External links
Official recording by BBC Symphony Orchestra (1967) and repertoire notes from Britten's publisher, Boosey and Hawkes
