This 'Britten the Performer' program opens with the opening work of the inaugural concert of the Snape Maltings, the home of Britten's Aldeburgh Festival. The work is his overture, 'The Building of the House,' specially composed for the occasion to highlight the acoustic of the new hall and premiered just two days before with Queen Elizabeth II in attendance.Two works by Britten's teacher, Frank Bridge, are also included. 'The Sea,' a sweeping, impressionist tone poem composed less than a decade after Debussy's 'La mer,' is an engaging work that might be seen as a British view of the same waters. Here and in Bridge's 'Enter Spring,' as well as in Gustav Holst's 'Egdon Heath,' Britten conveys an apt sense of space and breadth in the music, attentive to texture and melody. A performance of Holst's Fugal Concerto led by his daughter Imogen is included as a testament to Britten's opinion of her as a performer and a reminder that they worked together closely at Aldeburgh from its inception.

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This 'Britten the Performer' program opens with the opening work of the inaugural concert of the Snape Maltings, the home of Britten's Aldeburgh Festival. The work is his overture, 'The Building of the House,' specially composed for the occasion to highlight the acoustic of the new hall and premiered just two days before with Queen Elizabeth II in attendance.Two works by Britten's teacher, Frank Bridge, are also included. 'The Sea,' a sweeping, impressionist tone poem composed less than a decade after Debussy's 'La mer,' is an engaging work that might be seen as a British view of the same waters. Here and in Bridge's 'Enter Spring,' as well as in Gustav Holst's 'Egdon Heath,' Britten conveys an apt sense of space and breadth in the music, attentive to texture and melody. A performance of Holst's Fugal Concerto led by his daughter Imogen is included as a testament to Britten's opinion of her as a performer and a reminder that they worked together closely at Aldeburgh from its inception.