Mr. Symphonist
@deeplyclassical.bsky.social
Passionate symphony lover. Other music is good too.
#TheCompleteBritten #152 Hymn to St. Cecilia, Op.27 - for 5-part chorus (SSATB) with solos (1942) Cecilia is the patron saint of music and musicians. Britten's birth on her nameday, November 22, could hardly have been more auspicious, and he paid her homage with these 11 sublime minutes of music.
VOCES8: Hymn to St Cecilia - Benjamin Britten
YouTube video by VOCES8
youtu.be
Your regular reminder that there ISN’T a “war on cars.” Any objective observation in most cities however, would conclude that for 60+ years there’s been a war on every mobility choice EXCEPT cars. And that’s been bad for EVERYONE, including drivers. Poster via @urbantruth.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth
People think Schubert's Unfinished Symphony is so great and I've never seen what the big deal is. I could absolutely get halfway through a project and then abandon it for no particular reason, and I bet a lot of you guys could as well
Happy note change day in 70 year long Part 1 of 639 year long John Cage organ piece to all who celebrate. The next change will be in October 2027
As Slow as Possible - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
My #TheCompleteBritten playlists are huge, so I'm making smaller ones so you don't have to search through 100s of videos/tracks to find what you're after. I'll add them here as I go. Here's Volume 1, covering everything before 1930, on Youtube:
The Complete Britten Vol. 1: 1922-1929 - YouTube
Every piece composed by Benjamin Britten before 1930 that's been recorded. To mark 50 years since Benjamin Britten's death in 1976, throughout 2026 I'm liste...
youtube.com
#TheCompleteBritten #151 The trees they grow so high - Folksong Arrangements, Vol. 1 No. 5 (British Isles) (pre March 1942) The minimal piano part emphasizes the singer's lonely solitude as they sing of their teenage boy husband, married (against their wish) at 16, father at 17, dead at 18.
The trees they grow so high
YouTube video by Philip Langridge - Topic
youtu.be
In this 2012 episode of BBC Radio 4's Great Lives, Matthew Parris talks to writer, broadcaster and 6Music presenter Stuart Maconie about the life of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Great Lives - Ralph Vaughan Williams - BBC Sounds
Matthew Parris and Stuart Maconie celebrate the life of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
bbc.co.uk
My #TheCompleteBritten playlists are now so huge that I'm going to have to make smaller ones. 365 Youtube videos are a real pain to scroll through, and I'm only up to 1942, so it'll be much longer still by the time I'm finished.
The Complete Britten - YouTube
To mark 50 years since Benjamin Britten's death in 1976, I'm listening to all Britten's music throughout 2026 in the order he composed it. I'm adding every p...
youtube.com
There’s “off the charts” and there’s France’s absolutely bonkers June & July 2026 temperatures (see black line below). Bad things are happening. Fast.
#TheCompleteBritten #150 Clarinet Concerto (unfinished), formerly Op. 28 (1941-2) I'd no idea jazz legend Benny Goodman commissioned a concerto from Britten. It could have taken its place as a repertoire standard alongside Copland's concerto, also commissioned by Goodman, had he completed it.
Movements for a Clarinet Concerto: I. Molto allegro (Completed by C. Matthews)
YouTube video by Michael Collins - Topic
youtu.be
#TheCompleteBritten #149 The crocodile - folksong for high voice & piano (1941) Surprisingly little-known, this song is a total hoot from start to finish! If you think Britten's all War Requiem/Peter Grimes grimness and misery, try this and see if it doesn't make you laugh out loud!
The Crocodile (Arr. Britten)
YouTube video by Gerald Finley - Topic
youtu.be
#TheCompleteBritten #148 What the wild flowers tell me (arr. of 2nd movement of Mahler: Symphony No. 3 for reduced orchestra) (1941) Britten had been a big Mahler fan for years, but his music wasn't popular, and the vast scale made it difficult and expensive to put on, especially in wartime.
Mahler / Britten - What the wild flowers tell me | Ariane Matiakh | WDR Sinfonieorchester
YouTube video by ARD Klassik
youtu.be
Anne Sofie von Otter, now in her 70s, wields a smoke-stained, grainy lower register. She relishes every song like a latter-day Lotte Lenya, from wry, knowing humour to desolate darkness and world-weary resolve. #NewReleases2026 #150 put a huge smile on my face from start to finish. Just get it!
#TheCompleteBritten #147 Scottish Ballad for 2 pianos & orchestra, Op. 26 (1941) Written in California for Englishwoman Ethel Bartlett and Scotsman Rae Robertson, a husband & wife duo who popularised two-piano music in the 1930s & 40s. Too bombastic to be great Britten, but it has its moments.
Britten: Scottish Ballad ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Lucas & Arthur Jussen ∙ Oscar Jockel
YouTube video by hr-Sinfonieorchester – Frankfurt Radio Symphony
youtu.be
Am an ardent Jane Austen fan, but Clueless is the best adaptation of any of her novels by a country mile. Loose adaptations can be fun. Just enjoy something for what it is, and disregard what it is not.
Anne Sofie von Otter, now in her 70s, wields a smoke-stained, grainy lower register. She relishes every song like a latter-day Lotte Lenya, from wry, knowing humour to desolate darkness and world-weary resolve. #NewReleases2026 #150 put a huge smile on my face from start to finish. Just get it!
Happy #NewReleaseFriday! Howard Griffiths strikes again! My favourite one-man rare repertoire-reviving record industry is back with 3 symphonies by Paul Wranitzky, whom Haydn, Mozart (born the same year) and Beethoven all held in high esteem. Find out why: ▶️ open.qobuz.com/playlist/513...
Happy #NewReleaseFriday! Howard Griffiths strikes again! My favourite one-man rare repertoire-reviving record industry is back with 3 symphonies by Paul Wranitzky, whom Haydn, Mozart (born the same year) and Beethoven all held in high esteem. Find out why: ▶️ open.qobuz.com/playlist/513...
Is “pragmatic” the new, “grown up” word? Andy, there’s nothing “pragmatic” about drilling for more oil & gas - to even consider it with the planet literally on fire is total madness. How many times must we say it will do nothing for energy bills or security? It would be an act of utter recklessness
Burnham promises ‘pragmatic’ approach to North Sea oil and gas
PM tells reporters the government cannot ignore the energy resource ‘when people are struggling’
theguardian.com
Walkers should start producing small bags with exactly eight Quavers in them called Semibreve send tweet
UEFA spokesperson Dietmar Fumm said to reporters "This decision effectively signals that Gianni Infantino is an enemy of world football". tl;dr: FIFA "foe" - Fumm
#TheCompleteBritten #146 An American Overture (1941) Commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra and originally called An Occasional Overture, this Copland-y concert opener was quickly forgotten by everyone including Britten himself, who wrote another piece with the same name five years later!
An American Overture
YouTube video by Richard Hickox - Topic
youtu.be
#TheCompleteBritten #145 String Quartet No. 1 in D, Op. 25 (1941) On his excellent Listening to Britten blog, @benarcanafm.bsky.social calls this "a rather special piece", and he's right. I'd paid Britten's chamber music little attention before this year, and my first proper listen blew me away!
Benjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25. ANIMATO KWARTET/QUARTET
YouTube video by Animato Quartet
youtu.be
🎶You're so vane, You probably spin a lot when it's windy...🎶
