Rattle and the BPO Play Britten

If this doesn't knock your socks off I don't know what will. We have all grown up with Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and we know it so well it has probably lost some of its freshness and originality. But for the Berlin Philharmonic and its music director Simon Rattle nothing is routine. They give us not only an introduction to the instruments of the orchestra but to what is arguably the best orchestra in the world. This is out and out virtuosity at the highest level from every section of the orchestra. This excerpt includes only the final section of the piece - actually, without the narration we should call it Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Henry Purcell Op. 34 - and you may want to investigate the entire performance at the orchestra's website.

Paul E. Robinson