{"product_id":"4010276023289","title":"Benjamin Britten - Benjamin Britten Conducts Benjamin Britten - Import CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eCredits:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBenjamin Britten\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescription:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst Official Release! A collection of Britten’s self-composed and self-conducted SWR recordings. Excellent sound quality thanks to the SWR archive masters!\nAt the time, Heinrich Strobel, director of the music department at the newly established South West German Broadcasting (SWR), was a man who was very proactive in inviting contemporary composer-conductors to concerts and program productions with the station’s orchestra. Following Honegger, Hindemith, Copland, and Stravinsky, with Britten being the next to be invited. A distinctive feature of this album is that the three main works were each composed for celebratory events in the UK and Japan; it contains recordings made during Britten’s visit to Baden-Baden in December 1956.\n“Gloriana,” composed in 1953, is an opera commissioned by the British government from Britten to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The suite consists of four movements, and the profound singing heard in the second movement is performed by Piers, who was Britten’s partner in both his professional and personal life.\nThe “Variations on an Elizabethan Theme” were also a collaborative work with fellow British composers who responded to Britten’s call to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Based on the theme of Byrd’s original work “The Seringer Round,” the piece features variations composed by Britten, Tippett, Walton, Arthur Oldham, Lennox Berkeley, and Humphrey Searle, each writing their own interpretation. When the work was premiered anonymously at the 1953 Aldeburgh Music Festival, Britten conducted a small experiment in which he had the audience guess the composers’ identities.\nAnd then there is the controversial masterpiece *Sinfonia da Requiem*, commissioned to celebrate the 2,600th anniversary of the Imperial Era in Japan but rejected by the Japanese government due to its form and content, which were filled with scathing irony. While Britten’s own performances are the gold standard, this new release—which falls between the 1953 monaural session recording with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the 1964 stereo session recording with the New Philharmonia—is also expected to deliver a high-quality performance. Thanks to the use of the original master tapes from the SWR archives, the sound quality is crystal clear despite being in mono.\nKing International\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTracklisting:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1.Symphonic Suite, Op. 53a \"Gloriana\": The Tournament\u003cbr\u003e2.Symphonic Suite, Op. 53a \"Gloriana\": The Lute Song\u003cbr\u003e3.Symphonic Suite, Op. 53a \"Gloriana\": The Courtly Dances\u003cbr\u003e4.Symphonic Suite, Op. 53a \"Gloriana\": Gloriana Moritura\u003cbr\u003e5.Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20: Lacrymosa\u003cbr\u003e6.Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20: Dies irae\u003cbr\u003e7.Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20: Requiem aeternam\u003cbr\u003e8.Variations on an Elizabethan Theme. Thema Sellinger's Round\u003cbr\u003e9.Variations on an Elizabethan Theme. Variation 1. Allegro non troppo\u003cbr\u003e10.Variations on an Elizabethan Theme. Variation 2. A lament\u003cbr\u003e11.Variations on an Elizabethan Theme. Variation 3. Andante\u003cbr\u003e12.Variations on an Elizabethan Theme. Variation 4. Quick and Gay\u003cbr\u003e13.Variations on an Elizabethan Theme. Variation 5. Nocturne\u003cbr\u003e14.Variations on an Elizabethan Theme. Variation 6. Finale: Presto giocoso\u003cbr\u003e15.King Arthur: Chaconne fur Streicher und Cembalo F-Dur\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Haenssler Classic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53595484324129,"sku":"4010276023289","price":2690.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0568\/8482\/2076\/files\/4010276023289.jpg?v=1790481301","url":"https:\/\/cdsvinyljapan.com\/products\/4010276023289","provider":"CDs Vinyl Japan Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}