This disc is essentially self-recommending: anyone -- and that means anyone -- with an interest in the orchestral music and song cycles of the great twentieth century English composer
Benjamin Britten will have to hear it. Why? Because it contains all the recordings
Britten made of these works for Decca between 1954 and his death in 1976, and thereby forms the entire basis of an authentic and authoritative
Britten performance practice. A fine conductor of other composers' music -- his Mozart, his Schumann, and especially his
Mahler were full of insight and understanding --
Britten was a great conductor of his own music, combining in his performances the inspiration of creation with the act of re-creation. His awesome Sinfonia da Requiem with the
New Philharmonia and his soulful Cello Symphony with
Mstislav Rostropovich from 1964 are here, along with his sarcastic Piano Concerto with
Sviatoslav Richter and his searing Violin Concerto with
Mark Lubotsky from 1970. His whole three-act Prince of the Pagodas ballet played by the Royal Opera House Orchestra Covent Garden, from 1957 is here along with his sweet Simple Symphony from 1968 and his witty Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge from 1966, both played by the
English Chamber Orchestra. All the big song cycles are here -- Winter Words, the Michelangelo Sonnets, and the Donne Sonnets sung by tenor
Peter Pears and the Blake Songs and Proverbs sung by baritone
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau -- but best of all is the final disc coupling all three of the big orchestral song cycles -- the Serenade, Les illuminations, and the Nocturne all sung by the man for whom they were composed:
Peter Pears. If you have any interest in
Britten's music and you haven't already heard these recordings, you owe it to yourself to hear them. Decca's sound in the early '50s was a bit boomy in the bottom, but everything from the late '50s up is clear, deep, and rich.