Bedford digs deep with reissued Britten

A former colleague of Britten's Steuart Bedford's delves into psyche of the composer's great works, including some lost classics

Composer: Britten
Repertoire: Sinfonia da Requiem, et al
Artists: LSO/Steuart Bedford
Rating:  4/5 
Genre: Orchestral
Label: Naxos 8.557196

Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem was always one of his most potent creations, written against the ominous background of 1939 and dedicated to the memory of his parents. Bedford, who worked with Britten, digs deep into the work’s psyche and dynamically shapes its dramatic sweep. The ‘Four Sea Interludes’ from Peter Grimes are crisp and impressively clear too, and the rarely heard material from Britten’s neglected opera Gloriana makes a stimulating filler.