Simple Symphony, op. 4
Benjamin Britten
1934
Duration: 17'
I. Boisterous Bourée
II. Playful Pizzicato
III. Sentimental Saraband
IV. Frolicsome Finale
II. Playful Pizzicato
III. Sentimental Saraband
IV. Frolicsome Finale
The Simple Symphony, Op. 4, is a work for string orchestra or string quartet by Benjamin Britten. It was written between December 1933 and February 1934 in Lowestoft, using bits of score that the composer had written for the piano as a young teenager, between 1923 and 1926. It was composed for string orchestra and received its first performance in 1934 at Stuart Hall in Norwich, with Britten conducting an amateur orchestra.
The piece is dedicated to Audrey Alston (Mrs Lincolne Sutton), Britten's viola teacher during his childhood. The piece is based on eight themes which Britten wrote during his childhood (two per movement) and for which he had a particular fondness. He completed his final draft of this piece at age twenty.
