Average Rating:

.

Rattle Conducts Britten

from: British Composers

June 05, 2000
This 2 CD set contains a pretty diffuse lot of early and late (and generally unrelated) pieces by Britten and that may at first sight seem offputting, but don't be deterred. This is as compelling a set at the price as you are likely to find, provided you are at all attuned to Britten's idiom. There are stunning performances of the Sinfonia da Requiem (which he wrote on commission for an anniversary of the Japanese empire, but which in truth is a work dedicated to his parents, who had recently died), the Diversions for piano (left hand) and orchestra, and a quite amazing work that he wrote when only 14, the 4 Chansons Francaises, sung beautifully by Jill Gomez. Almost everything on the 2 CDs is worth repeated listening, even the pieces that ... Read More: