Britten Sinfonia
The Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra that, in its own words, "is inspired by the ethos of Benjamin Britten through world-class performances, illuminating and distinctive programmes where old meets new, and a deep commitment to bringing outstanding music to both the world's finest concert halls and the local community." The orchestra was heard on several albums in 2021, including recordings of Grayston Ives' Requiem and the rare Donizetti opera Il Paria.
The Britten Sinfonia was founded in 1992 and is based in Cambridge, England. Among the founders was the choral conductor Nicholas Cleobury. The Sinfonia operates without a principal conductor, with David Butcher serving as chief executive and artistic director from its founding until 2020. He was succeeded that year by Meurig Bowen. The Sinfonia, made up of freelance musicians working on a project-by-project basis, performs about 70 concerts a year, generally moving from place to place and taking up short residences in cities where it works with local musicians and performing arts presenters. The ensemble's project collaborators have included composers (Thomas Adès, Roderick Williams, James MacMillan), performers (Ian Bostridge, Iestyn Davies, Polyphony), conductors (Masaaki Suzuki), and jazz and popular musicians (Brad Mehldau, Rufus Wainwright).
An Associate Ensemble at the Barbican in London, the Britten Sinfonia has also held residencies in Norwich, Cambridge (where it is an Ensemble-in-Residence at the University), and elsewhere. The group has a chamber music series at London's Wigmore Hall and has appeared at the prestigious Aldeburgh Festival and BBC Proms. The Britten Sinfonia has toured North and South America, continental Europe, and Asia, including a tour of China in May 2016, with performances in Shanghai, Beijing, and Wuhan. The Britten Sinfonia, a nonprofit organization and registered charity, encompasses a Creative Learning Department, which offers a Britten Sinfonia Academy for young musicians to train and perform with members of the orchestra, as well as a Britten Sinfonia Academy Composer Hub to mentor young composers. In 2013, the orchestra launched the OPUS composition competition, inviting submissions from unpublished composers of any age. This competition was divided into two in 2021: Opus 1 and Magnum Opus. That year, the Britten Sinfonia was heard on an Opera Rara recording of Donizetti's Il Paria, under Sir Mark Elder, as well as the Signum Classics recordings Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 7-9; Gerald Barry: The Eternal Recurrence, conducted by Thomas Adès, and Grayston Ives: Requiem, with the Jesus College Choir, Cambridge, under conductor Richard Pinel.
© James Manheim & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Donizetti: Il Paria
Albina Shagimuratova, René Barbera, Misha Kiria, Marko Mimica, Mark Elder, Britten Sinfonia
Opera - Released by Opera Rara on Jan 15, 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies 4, 5 & 6 - Barry: The Conquest of Ireland & Viola Concerto
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Oct 23, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: II. Allegretto (Radio Edit)
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Mar 9, 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Deeper the Blue...
Janet Sung, Britten Sinfonia, Simon Callaghan, Jac van Steen
Classical - Released by SOMM Recordings on Nov 15, 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Delius: Hassan, DCW 8, Act 1: Prelude
Zeb Soanes, Britten Sinfonia Voices, Britten Sinfonia, Jamie Phillips
Theatre Music - Released by Chandos on Mar 1, 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Headington: Piano Concerto; Serenade; The Healing Fountain
Gordon Fergus-Thompson, Andrew Carwood, Alexander Baillie, Britten Sinfonia, Nicholas Cleobury
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on Jan 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Evening Service in D: II. Nunc Dimittis (Arr. for choir and orchestra by Douglas Hopkins)
Choir of Merton College, Oxford, Girl Choristers of Merton College, Oxford, Britten Sinfonia
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Jun 2, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concerto For Flute and Harp
Concertos - Released by Sony Classical on Jun 7, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Adolphe Adam: O Holy Night (Arr. John Rutter)
Daniel Hyde, Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Britten Sinfonia
Classical - Released by Kings College Cambridge on Dec 15, 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
ConNotations
Mei Yi Foo, Bartosz Woroch, Philipp Hutter, Ashley Wass, Britten Sinfonia, Clement Power
Classical - Released by Orchid Classics on Mar 3, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concerto For Flute & Harp
Concertos - Released by Conifer - Classic FM on Jun 7, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maw: Hymnus; Little Concert; Shahnama
Nicholas Cleobury, Britten Sinfonia, Nicholas Daniel, Oxford Bach Choir, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21: I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Mar 4, 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
John Rutter: Visions, III. Lament for Jerusalem (Instrumental Version)
Daniel Hyde, Hannah Perowne, Britten Sinfonia
Classical - Released by King’s College, Cambridge on Mar 29, 2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Requiem: I. Introit – Kyrie
Choir of Jesus College Cambridge, Britten Sinfonia
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Jul 1, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: L'esule di Roma, Act 1, N. 4 Terzetto: 'Piangi? Ti rasserena...' (Settimio, Argelia, Murena)
Opera - Released by Opera Rara on Feb 16, 2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mercadante: Il proscritto: Act 1, 'Il mar che freme' (Malvina, Odoardo)
Opera - Released by Opera Rara on Mar 31, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Songs of the Sky
Chamber Music - Released by Signum Records on Mar 2, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'esule di Roma, Act 2: N. 8 Scena, Coro e Rondo: 'Ogni tormento, qual nebbia al vento' (Argelia, Settimio, Murena, Chorus)
Opera - Released by Opera Rara on Feb 2, 2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Blackford: Songs of Nadia Anjuman (Live)
Elizabeth Watts, Britten Sinfonia
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Nimbus Alliance on Mar 1, 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60: IV. Allegro ma non troppo
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Sep 29, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo