Product Review
The biggest influence on Benjamin Britten's life as a young music student was Frank Bridge, whose later career saw him tempering his romanticism-- much to the public's dislike. Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge is based on motifs from Bridge's Three Idylls of 1906 and is almost ruthless in its technical brilliance. It was an instant hit (and brought Bridge's music back to the fore). The other works on this disc show Britten's deft manipulations of the forces of a string orchestra. Britten is much less the romantic here than in some of his other work, but this music certainly has its appeal. --Paul Cook