Benjamin Britten’s Piano Concerto, Op. 13, was composed in 1938 and revised in 1945, as presented here. Britten wrote the concerto for himself to play at a Promenade Concert in 1938.

The original version included a slow movement titled “Recitative and Aria,” but in 1945 Britten replaced it with a newly composed “Impromptu.” The concerto is a bravura work, but it is not virtuosity for its own sake. Britten combines sharply profiled piano writing with a strong sense of contrast and theatrical immediacy, so the solo part often sounds like an active protagonist rather than simply a display vehicle.

That balance of energy, wit, and structural clarity is a large part of the concerto’s appeal. It belongs to Britten’s early orchestral style, but it already shows the control and distinctiveness that would remain central to his later music.