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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.

Feeling artistically stifled and restless, in 1939 Britten decided to move to America. A few months after he arrived, the Second World War broke out. For Britten, an avowed pacifist, news of the situation back in Britain created a confusing and conflicted period in his life.

String Quartet No 1 in D major, Op 25 (2nd movement)
Takacs Quartet

Violin Concerto, Op 15 (1st movement)
Tasmin Little, violin
´óÏó´«Ã½ Philharmonic
Edward Gardner, conductor

Since She Whom I Loved (The Holy Sonnets of John Donne)
James Gilchrist, tenor
Anna Tilbrook, piano

Sinfonia da Requiem
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Libor Pešek, conductor

A Hymn to St Cecilia
Choir of King's College, Cambridge
Stephen Cleobury, director.