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Few composers have cast such a long shadow over a nation's musical consciousness as Benjamin Britten. Born in 1913 in the seaside town of Lowestoft in Suffolk, Britten was the first of his generation to attain international recognition; while at home his music breathed new life into the cultural fabric of post-war Britain. An accomplished pianist and conductor, he re-established "English" opera with the overwhelming success of "Peter Grimes", first heard in 1945. Together with his partner in life and music, the tenor Peter Pears, he founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948. The level of recognition Britten achieved is all the more remarkable because in 1948 he was still only 35!

Across the week Donald Macleod explores these formative years. It's a rich seam of music to mine, with works including Les Illuminations, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Sinfonia da Requiem. The week concludes with excerpts from Peter Pears's acclaimed recording of Peter Grimes and the triumphal conclusion of Britten's Spring Symphony, premiered in 1949 by Pears and the contralto Kathleen Ferrier.

Donald Macleod begins his survey with three enduring influences on Britten: his musically inclined mother, his first significant composition teacher, Frank Bridge, whom he met when he was barely in his teens, and the 17th-century English composer Henry Purcell, to whom he paid tribute in The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.

Dawn (Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes)
Flanders Symphony Orchestra
Jan Latham-Koenig, conductor

Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, Op 10 (excerpt)
Camerata Nordica
Terje Tønnesen, conductor

Quatre Chansons Françaises
Felicity Lott, soprano
English Chamber Orchestra
Steuart Bedford, conductor

Purcell, arr Britten
Chacony for Strings in G minor
Chamber Orchestra of Europe

The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op 34
London Symphony Orchestra
Benjamin Britten, conductor.