1954 saw large-scale premieres from four of the most underrated classical composers of the entire 20th century: Benjamin Britten, Witold Lutoslawski, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edgard Varèse.
The Turn of the Screw
Artist: Benjamin Britten
Genre: Opera
Grade: A
I’ve always had misgivings when it comes to English-speaking operas, and I usually detest when prominent roles are doled out to children. So, naturally, I was pretty apprehensive of The Turn of the Screw. But my doubts were quickly assuaged and the verdict was clear: The Turn of the Screw finds composer Benjamin Britten at the peak of his powers. This is an opera succeeding on all fronts — musically, vocally, lyrically and thematically.
Britten’s music has roots in baroque folksong, yet always contains an ominous sense of dissonance — a British Bartók, if you will. The Turn of the Screw, a chamber opera, is scored for a relatively small ensemble, and though the vocal performances seem to take precedent, the music is never an afterthought. The variations of the twelve-note “Screw” theme are permeated by ambiguity.
There are plenty of memorable scenes — Miles’ haunting song to close out Act 1 (“You said/I am bad/I am bad/Aren’t I?”), the opening instrumental of Act 2 (entitled “Variations VIII”) and the eerie Latin trance that is reprised in the final act. Yet this is an opera that works best when considered as a whole. As caught up as I was with the music, I was even more transfixed by the storyline, an enthralling adaptation of Henry James’ 1898 Gothic horror classic. Containing all kinds of psychosexual subtext, Turn is perhaps Britten’s most daring and autobiographical work, a mysterious ghost story that haunts you long after the final notes.
*For optimum quality, I recommend listening to the 1982 version featuring Robert Tear, Helen Donath and the Convent Garden House Opera Orchestra, conducted by Colin Davis.
Déserts
Artist: Edgard Varèse
Genre: Experimental Classical
Grade: A
Déserts is quite possibly Edgard Varèse’s greatest work, the middle ground between his early post-Stravinsky period (Amériques, 1927) and his final electronic diaspora in 1958 (Poème Électronique). Though he composed relatively little, his influence is immeasurable. Here he alternates Kontra-Punkte orchestral serialism with industrial electronic noise, the result of which creates a disconcerting and often harrowing effect. Not even Karlheinz Stockhausen can compare.
Tuba Concerto in F minor
Artist: Ralph Vaughan Williams
Genre: Romanticism
Grade: A-
“Lark Ascending for tuba” wasn’t what I was expecting, but that’s what Vaughan Williams basically gives us. As his career wound to a close, he cemented his reputation as one of the greatest of all British composers. This unlikely concerto is proof.
Concerto for Orchestra
Artist: Witold Lutoslawski
Genre: Modern Classical
Grade: A-
One of the most technically accomplished orchestral works of the decade, Witold Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra is a dazzling display of virtuosity and compositional skill. An aggressive, foreboding opus that is introduced by a threatening ostinato drumbeat, the Concerto for Orchestra takes traditional Polish folk melodies and subverts them into a modernist fantasia. While I tend to prefer Lutoslawski’s later work (in which he goes completely avant-garde), Concerto for Orchestra still ranks as one of the most dynamic and invigorating in his repertoire.
