Artbeat 16 October 2013 | RTÉ NSO: Big On Britten - Britten & America

This year is Benjamin Britten's centenary and the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra is celebrating in some style with the second in a series entitled Big on Britten. Declan McGovern, RTÉ NSO General Manager joined Artbeat's Des FitzGerald to talk about this fascinating composer. Born in the fishing port of Lowestoft in Suffolk, on England’s east coast, the sea always had a strong pull on Britten and the Four Sea Interludes is the the most outstanding example of this influence. Composed as orchestral pieces to divide the opera Peter Grimes: Dawn; Sunday Morning; Moonlight and Storm capture the North Sea in all its moods. Britten spent the early part of the Second World War in America and the concert reflects this with Bernstein’s On the Town (Three Dance Episodes) and Copland’s ballet score Appalachian Spring. Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, based on a selection of six nocturnal poems by, among others, Blake, Jonson and Keats also features. Big On Britten: Britten & America RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Friday 18 October at 8pm National Concert Hall Prices: €35, €30, €24, €18, €10 Box office: 01 417 0000