Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra

Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra, Op. 21, is a concertante music composition by Benjamin Britten.

History

Britten wrote the work for the Viennese-born pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in World War I. Britten met Wittgenstein in New York in July 1940 and sketched the piece in August at Owl's Head, Maine. Although Wittgenstein complained about the orchestration, Britten declined to make any changes.^[1] In spite of this situation, Wittegenstein retained the performing rights for a good number of years, which kept other pianists from performing the work.^[2]

Wittgenstein played the premiere of Diversions with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Ormandy on 16 January 1942. The Philadelphia reviewers commented more on Wittgenstein and his work as a one-armed pianist than on the composition itself. The Philadelphia Record did describe the score as "ingeniously written", while Musical America commented on the presence of both "pleasurable and dull moments" in the work.^[3]

Music

The piece is in the form of a theme and 11 variations:

• Theme
• Variation I, Recitative
• Variation II, Romance
• Variation III, March
• Variation IV, Rubato
• Variation V, Chorale
• Variation VI, Nocturne
• Variation VII, Badinerie
• Variation VIII, Ritmico
• Variation IXa, Toccata I
• Variation IXb, Toccata II
• Variation X, Adagio
• Variation XI, Tarantella.

Britten utilised music that he wrote for a production of J. B. Priestley's Johnson over Jordan as source material for the work.^[4] Lyn Henderson has noted the influence of Prokofiev-like rhythms in Variation IXa.^[5] Christopher Mark has discussed Britten's use of the circle of fifths in various works, including the Diversions.^[6]

Recordings

• Decca LXT 2981 (original LP): Julius Katchen, pianist; London Symphony Orchestra; Benjamin Britten, conductor^[7]
• Desto Records DC-7168 (original LP): Leon Fleisher, pianist; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Sergiu Comissiona, conductor
• EMI Classics: Peter Donohoe, pianist; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Sir Simon Rattle, conductor

References

1. See Mitchell 1991, pp. 956-57
2. Thackeray, Ruth (1978). "Music in London: Orchestral". The Musical Times (The Musical Times, Vol. 119, No. 1629) 119 (1629): 975–977. doi:10.2307/960161. JSTOR 960161.
3. Robinson, Suzanne (1997). ""An English Composer Sees America": Benjamin Britten and the North American Press, 1939-42". American Music (American Music, Vol. 15, No. 3) 15 (3): 321–351. doi:10.2307/3052328. JSTOR 3052328.
4. Salter, Lionel (1994). "Book Reviews". The Musical Times 119 (2): 268–297. JSTOR 964627.
5. Henderson, Lyn (January 1987). "His Influence on Britten: The Vital Prokofiev". The Musical Times 128 (1727): 24–25. JSTOR 1004703.
6. Mark, Christopher (1994). "Britten and the Circle of Fifths". Journal of the Royal Musical Association 119 (2): 268–297. doi:10.1093/jrma/119.2.268. JSTOR 766522.
7. Thomson, Eric (1955). "Record Guide". Tempo (New Ser.) 36 (36): 35. ISSN 0040-2982. Retrieved 2008-02-03.

Sources

• Mitchell, Donald & Reed, Philip (eds) (1991). Letters from a Life: Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten, Vol 2, 1939-45. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571160581.