COMPOSERS: Britten
LABELS: ASV Quicksilva
WORKS: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge; Simple Symphony; Prelude and Fugue
PERFORMER: Northern Sinfonia of England/Richard Hickox
CATALOGUE NO: CD QS 6214 1987
Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (1937) was one of the first clear manifestations of his genius. The music ranges across many moods and techniques, with a magnificent structural control. Hickox and the Northern Sinfonia give an inspired performance, captured in an ambient acoustic. The charming Simple Symphony is also well played, and if the Prelude and Fugue does not take flight in the same way as the Variations, that is largely because of its more academic character. Terry Barfoot
Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge; Simple Symphony; Prelude and Fugue
Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (1937) was one of the first clear manifestations of his genius. The music ranges across many moods and techniques, with a magnificent structural control. Hickox and the Northern Sinfonia give an inspired performance, captured in an ambient acoustic. The charming Simple Symphony is also well played, and if the Prelude and Fugue does not take flight in the same way as the Variations, that is largely because of its more academic character. Terry Barfoot
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:28 pm