831BTC852852BBM/piano_concertoPiano concertoFor piano and orchestraConcerto no I in D major for solo pianoforte and orchestra. [1938] Piano concerto no 1, Op. 13 [1945] Concerto for piano and orchestra [1968]

The concerto was first performed and published as 'no. 1', although a successor was never composed.

op. 13131Orchestral7 Feb 1938100026 Jul 19381001ca. Aug 1945

The start date is given as January 1938 on the fair copy score, but Britten writes in his diary that he started the concerto on 7 February. The revisions were sent to Clifford Curzon on 1 Sep 1945.

Orchestra: 2 fl (=picc), 2 ob (II=ca), 2 cl in A and B flat, 2 bn - 4 hn, 2 tpt in C, 3 trbn, tuba - timp, 2 perc (sd, td, bd, tamb, cymb, block, whip) - harp - str33.0'To Lennox Berkeley'

Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989), English composer.

The original slow movement was replaced in 1945 by the 'Impromptu'. See individual movements for further details.

0019387 Feb - 26 Jul 1938119350831

1 Toccata

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Sviatoslav Richter / Benjamin Britten. (Decca 417 3082). Recording courtesy of Decca Music Group.

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2 Waltz

Shares some musical material with By the moon we sport and play (ca. 1936) and Untitled piece in F major (ca. 1936-37).

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Sviatoslav Richter / Benjamin Britten. (Decca 417 3082). Recording courtesy of Decca Music Group.

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3 Impromptu

This movement replaced the original slow movement, 'Recitative and aria', in 1945. It draws on material from Britten's music written for the radio play King Arthur (Mar-Apr 1937) (chosen deliberately because it was contemporary with the rest of the concerto) and on some of the figuration of the original slow movement. The main theme was later used by William Walton in his Improvisations on an impromptu of Benjamin Britten (1970).

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Sviatoslav Richter / Benjamin Britten. (Decca 417 3082). Recording courtesy of Decca Music Group.

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4 March

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Sviatoslav Richter / Benjamin Britten. (Decca 417 3082). Recording courtesy of Decca Music Group.

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Discarded movement: Recitative and Aria

Completed on 13 June 1938. It was replaced by 'Impromptu' in the 1945 revisions.

0831/5100019301938270000000707437100119301938726000000070760611983100010Concert performance18 Aug 19381465Queen's Hall, London

Benjamin Britten pf, BBC SO, Sir Henry Wood cond

01465193019388180000000707628830BTC851851BBM/spain_missingSpain [missing]Theatre music1Incidental musicmissingJun 1938999Male and female vv - cl - vn (=dulcitone) - pf(of play and vocal numbers) Montagu Slater (1902-1956)

The manuscript score is missing. Written to accompany the first of three short plays by Montagu Slater. The other two were Seven ages of man and The station master, with scores by Lennox Berkeley.

001938Jun 1938832BTC853853BBM/advance_democracy_filmAdvance democracyFilm score1Incidental musicpre Oct 19381002Chorus (SATB) - perc (?cymb, sd, bd)

The end title music comprises a medley of various left-wing songs including 'The internationale' and 'The red flag'. The music written for this film is not the same as that in the motet Advance democracy (Nov 1938).

001938pre Oct 1938