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Scoring

3(II,III=picc).2.corA.2.Ebcl.asax.3(III=dbn)-4.3.3.1-timp.perc(7):xyl/vib/
glsp/tgl/cast/tamb/3tom-t/SD/BD/sm.timp/sm.cyms/susp.cym/cyms/2gongs-
cel-harp-pft.duet-strings

Abbreviations (PDF)

Publisher

Boosey & Hawkes

Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.

Availability

World Premiere
6/4/1997
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Vladimir Ashkenazy
Repertoire Note

Britten’s only full-length ballet was written for Covent Garden and first performed on New Year’s Day 1957 with choreography by John Cranko. In more recent years it has been successfully revived and toured internationally by the Royal Ballet with new choreography by Kenneth MacMillan. The score is notable for its highly sophisticated emulation of the gamelan ensembles that Britten heard on a trip to Bali in 1956, used to portray the colourful and exotic world of ‘Pagoda Land’. Three compilations of extracts from the ballet are available for concert purposes: the exhilarating Pas de six from Act 3; the Prelude and Dances, compiled by Norman Del Mar (with Britten’s authorization) in 1963; and a more recent Suite compiled in 1997 by Donald Mitchell and Mervyn Cooke.

Recommended Recording
cd_cover

BBC Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin
Chandos CHSA5017

Click here to purchase this CD from Amazon

Links

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