The Occasional Overture was written for the opening of the BBC Third Programme in 1946. It is a rumbustious piece that might almost have been written by Malcolm Arnold rather than Britten. The other works are more familiar and often recorded, but all three performances here under Steuart Bedford are of the highest calibre, with superb playing from the strings of the ECO in the Frank Bridge Variations and Prelude and Fugue, and the LSO on top form in the other two works. Excellent recording too…this is a genuine Naxos bargain. --Penguin Guide, January 2009 ***
"There's really no more that need be said: this is Britten at his best, in every respect, and a first-rate bargain to boot." --ClassicsToday.com, July 2005
"These performances of the Frank Bridge Variations and the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Steuart Bedford (taken from the old Collins Classics catalog) stand among the very few that compare to the composer's own classic Decca recordings, and they feature better sonics. In the Variations, Bedford finds the right balance between accuracy and emotion, delivering (for example) an aptly loony Aria Italiana, a gracious Wiener Walzer, and a grim Funeral March while keeping the string playing sharply focused and admirably precise. He also achieves a fine clarity of texture in the final fugue, which can come off sounding merely muddy in less capable hands.
Clarity also is a feature of The Young Person's Guide, in the sense that Bedford finds plenty of color in this delightful score and makes sure that we hear all of it. Once again the concluding fugue is outstanding, as physically exciting as any on disc, but the individual contributions of the various LSO soloists and sections are also excellent (especially the brass). Both the Occasional Overture and the Prelude and Fugue for 18-part String Orchestra come off equally well and make an excellent bonus. There's really no more that need be said: this is Britten at his best, in every respect, and a first-rate bargain to boot."
"These performances of the Frank Bridge Variations and the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Steuart Bedford (taken from the old Collins Classics catalog) stand among the very few that compare to the composer's own classic Decca recordings, and they feature better sonics. In the Variations, Bedford finds the right balance between accuracy and emotion, delivering (for example) an aptly loony Aria Italiana, a gracious Wiener Walzer, and a grim Funeral March while keeping the string playing sharply focused and admirably precise. He also achieves a fine clarity of texture in the final fugue, which can come off sounding merely muddy in less capable hands.
Clarity also is a feature of The Young Person's Guide, in the sense that Bedford finds plenty of color in this delightful score and makes sure that we hear all of it. Once again the concluding fugue is outstanding, as physically exciting as any on disc, but the individual contributions of the various LSO soloists and sections are also excellent (especially the brass). Both the Occasional Overture and the Prelude and Fugue for 18-part String Orchestra come off equally well and make an excellent bonus. There's really no more that need be said: this is Britten at his best, in every respect, and a first-rate bargain to boot."
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