Simple Symphony, Op. 4

• Britten wrote this piece in 1933-4, shortly after graduating from the Royal College of Music in December 1932. He had been awarded a travel grant to study abroad at this time, but his parents disapproved of his desire to study with Alban Berg, so he stayed at home and put this piece together instead.¹
• Britten based this entire symphony on early compositions he had stored at home from his childhood:² specifically, pieces he wrote between the ages of 9-12.³
• Britten conducted this work’s premiere on March 6, 1934, in Norwich.⁴

Movements 

1. Boisterous Bourrée 
2. Playful Pizzicato 
3. Sentimental Saraband 
4. Frolicsome Finale⁵

“This ‘Simple Symphony’ is entirely based on material from works which the composer wrote between the ages of nine and twelve. (The actual sources are given in the footnotes to each movement.) Although the development of these themes is in many places quite new, there are large stretches of the work which are taken bodily from the early pieces–save for the re-scoring for strings.” 

Benjamin Britten⁶

1. Jennifer Doctor et al, “Britten, (Edward) Benjamin,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 6, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000046435.
2. Ibid.
3. “Simple Symphony Op.4 (study score),” Boosey & Hawkes, accessed October 6, 2021, boosey.com/shop/prod/Britten-Benjamin-Simple-Symphony-Op-4-study-score/601247.
4. Doctor et al, “Britten, (Edward) Benjamin,” Grove Music Online.
5. Benjamin Britten, Simple Symphony for String Orchestra (London: Chester Music, 2009).
6. Ibid., 1.