Britten Pears Arts

The restoration of Britten's Viola 

There is something so powerful about hearing a musician’s music played on their own instrument. Visitors to The Red House will be used to the sight of his piano in the library, and may have heard it played at one of our intimate Red House Recitals. Less well known is that his viola – his second instrument, but nonetheless a hugely important part of his history – has been played regularly since his death.

Until now, that is. A historical repair to the button area at the back of the instrument began to fail last year, and further playing risked irreparable damage. We are delighted to share, however, that thanks to a grant from The Association of Independent Museums, supported by The Pilgrim Trust and The Julia Rausing Trust, it is going to be repaired. Over the next few months, one of the UK’s leading restorers of fine instruments – based in Wickham Market no less – will bring it back to a playable condition. There is an outside chance that it will feature in next year’s Aldeburgh Festival.  

The history of the viola is fascinating. It is much more than just Britten’s instrument, it represents a core BPA value: ‘passing it on’. Indeed no object in the vast holdings at The Red House could better encapsulate this theme.  

It was made by Guissani in 1843, we believe to be his own instrument. As he was part of the orchestra of La Scala, it likely played at the premiere of two Verdi operas. It was bought by Britten’s mentor, composer Frank Bridge, who gifted it to Britten 34 years later. It was Britten’s instrument when he composed his major works. In 1970, Britten passed it on to Cecil Aronowitz, having previously written with Aronowitz in mind. He passed it on to Paul Cassidy, a promising artist at the Britten Pears School. He played it in the Brodsky Quartet for 29 years before it came to Hélène Clément. Her recitals and recordings combining the music of Bridge and Britten have added meaning from being played on the two men’s instrument.  

She writes,

“I use it when teaching for masterclasses and try to convey how many different voices there can be for violists. Britten's viola is incredibly special because it has quite a tenor like sound, it's not a large "cello-like" instrument, it is unapologetically its own special voice. So it has been a great tool to inspire young musicians' imagination.  

Since I've been playing on the instrument it has made me feel a lot closer to Bridge and Britten's music, it has made playing this repertoire more personal. I have therefore made a recording dedicated to the instrument and viola pieces by Bridge and Britten, and since this I have taken the repertoire into recital programmes as often as I could.”