English Music for Strings Sinfonia of London & John Wilson

• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10:
• 1 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Introduction & Theme 01:31
• 2 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 1, Adagio 01:52
• 3 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 2, March 01:05
• 4 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 3, Romance 01:31
• 5 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 4, Aria italiana 01:11
• 6 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 5, Bourrée classique 01:17
• 7 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 6, Wiener Walzer 02:05
• 8 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 7, Moto perpetuo 01:00
• 9 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 8, Funeral March 03:49
• 10 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 9, Chant 01:39
• 11 Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10: Var. 10, Fugue & Finale 06:34
• Frank Bridge (1879 1941):
• 12 Bridge: Lament, H. 117 (Version for String Orchestra) 03:47
• Lennox Berkeley (1903 - 1989): Bridge: Lament, H. 117 (Version for String Orchestra):
• 13 Berkeley: Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 12: I. Vivace 02:09
• 14 Berkeley: Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 12: II. Andantino 03:52
• 15 Berkeley: Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 12: III. Allegro moderato 03:11
• 16 Berkeley: Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 12: IV. Lento 03:48
• Arthur Bliss (1891 - 1975):Bliss: Music for Strings, F. 123:
• 17 Bliss: Music for Strings, F. 123: I. Allegro moderato, enerfico 08:38
• 18 Bliss: Music for Strings, F. 123: II. Andante, molto sostenuto 08:52
• 19 Bliss: Music for Strings, F. 123: III. Allegro molto - Andante moderato 06:24
• Total Runtime 01:04:15

Info for English Music for Strings

During the 1930s, Bliss, Britten, and Berkeley all contributed major works to the repertoire for string orchestra, following in the footsteps of Elgar and Vaughan Williams. They are joined on this album by Frank Bridge whose Lament was composed during the First World War. This is the fourth recording by John Wilson with his award-winning Sinfonia of London. Bliss composed Music for Strings after he had completed the film score for Kordas Things to Come, driven by his desire to compose a piece of pure music, expressing his own ideas rather than those of others. Commissioned in May 1937 by Boyd Neel for the Salzburg Festival that summer, Brittens Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge was composed at great speed, and helped to establish the young composers international reputation. Dedicated to his teacher, Frank Bridge, the theme is taken from the second of Bridges Three Idylls for string quartet. Lennox Berkeley composed his Serenade for Strings at Snape Maltings, where he was living with Britten in 1938 / 39. By the time of its completion the nation was at war and the music seems to reflect the composers anxious mood as the world faced an uncertain future. The album is recorded in Surround-Sound, and available as a hybrid SACD. The front cover features a painting by Edward Wadsworth of Blisss house, Pen Pits, built for him in 1935.

Sinfonia of London
John Wilson, conductor

The Sinfonia of London
is the name of two distinct session orchestras based in London, England. The original ensemble of this name was founded in 1955 by Gordon Walker, an eminent flautist of his time, specifically for the recording of film music. The orchestra appeared on the musical credits of many British and American films of the 1950s and 60s.

Among the original ensemble’s most celebrated commercial classical recordings is its 1963 recordings with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the Serenade for Strings of Edward Elgar and the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis of Ralph Vaughan Williams for EMI Classics and the 1958 soundtrack album from the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Vertigo with Bernard Herrmann’s score conducted by Muir Mathieson (Mercury Records). The label World Record Club released an Lp (WRC T 11) of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and the Egmont Overture with Hans Swarowsky conducting the ensemble. The original orchestra ceased to perform during the 1960s.

In 1982 the title Sinfonia of London was bought by Peter Willison and Howard Blake from the Walker family for the purpose of having a named orchestra for the first recording of The Snowman. In February 1998, Bruce Broughton was named the orchestra’s second musical director after Blake. Under Peter Willison’s management, the orchestra went on to record many soundtracks for major Hollywood films, including Batman, The Mummy Returns, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Lost in Space, The Lawnmower Man, Stargate, Tombstone, RoboCop and Young Sherlock Holmes.

John Wilson
is in demand at the highest level across the globe, working with some of the finest orchestras and opera houses. In the UK, he performs regularly at festivals such as Aldeburgh, Glyndebourne and the BBC Proms with orchestras such as London Symphony, London Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony. Elsewhere, he has conducted the Royal Concertgebouw, Budapest Festival, Swedish Radio Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic and Sydney Symphony orchestras amongst others. In the 2019/20 season, Wilson makes his debut with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Danish National Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Basel Symphony orchestras and his return engagements include DSO Berlin, BBC Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestra

Wilson made his opera debut in 2016 conducting Madama Butterfly at Glyndebourne Festival Opera on their autumn tour and has since conducted Porgy and Bess at English National Opera and returned to Glyndebourne Summer Festival to conduct Massent Cendrillon. He will be making his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, in a future season.

Wilson has a large and varied discography which includes a series of discs with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra exploring the works of Richard Rodney Bennett, with the BBC Philharmonic devoted to the symphonic works of Aaron Copland and numerous recordings with the John Wilson Orchestra. In 2019 Chandos released Wilson’s first recording with the Sinfonia of London which features Korngold’s Symphony in F Sharp.

Born in Gateshead, Wilson studied composition and conducting at the Royal College of Music, where in 2011 he was made a Fellow. In 1994, he formed his own orchestra, the John Wilson Orchestra, dedicated to performing music from the golden age of Hollywood and Broadway, and with whom he has appeared regularly across the UK. In March 2019, John Wilson was awarded the prestigious ISM Distinguished Musician Award for his services to music.

Booklet for English Music for Strings