Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

The Gramophone guide to the best Britten recordings

Benjamin Britten on Aldeburgh Beach in 1959 (photo: Hans Wild courtesy of www.britten100.org)

Introduction

Britten came of age in 1934, the year in which Elgar, Holst and Delius died. He rapidly dragged British music into another era – his own. Read the full biography.

More on Britten...

Ben: a tribute to Benjamin Britten, by John Culshaw

Britten – 10 Essential Recordings

New to Britten? Here's a list of the top 10 recordings to help start your collection...

1. Peter Grimes
2. War Requiem
3. Serenade
4. The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
5. A Ceremony of Carols
6. The Turn of the Screw
7. Cello Suites
8. Billy Budd
9. String Quartets
10. Death in Venice

Building your Collection

Select a musical category below to explore the finest Britten recordings available.

Orchestral Chamber/Inst. Vocal Opera

Piano Concerto Cello Suites AMDG Albert Herring

Violin Concerto String Quartets Carols Billy Budd

Cello Symphony Phantasy Quartet Serenade Curlew River

Young Person's Guide Songs Death in Venice

Sinfonia da Requiem War Requiem Gloriana

Film Music Golden Vanity 

Miscellaneous Works Noye's Fludde

Owen Wingrave

Peter Grimes

The Turn of the Screw

More Gramophone Composer Guides

Bach ● Beethoven ● Brahms ● Bruckner ● Debussy ● Elgar ● Handel ● Mahler ● Mozart ● Poulenc ● Rachmaninov ● Saint-Saëns ● Stravinsky ● Tchaikovsky ● Verdi ● Wagner

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