by Ben Hogwood Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

The gentleman in the fuzzy image above, Frank Bridge, died on this day in 1941. The importance of Bridge to English music continues to be underestimated, as indeed does his originality as a composer.

Bridge exerted a keen influence on his pupil, the young Benjamin Britten, but pushed his own music to the edge of tonality without losing its appeal. Compositions that are testament to his ability include Oration, for cello and orchestra, the pictorial orchestral works The Sea, Enter Spring, Summer and There is a willow grows aslant a brook, four string quartets and two piano trios.

Yet the piece I wanted to highlight today comes from earlier in his career, a winsome trio of Idylls for string quartet completed in 1906. The second provided Britten with a theme for his Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge some three decades later. If you listen to all three you get a strong dose of English charm, wit and romantic yearning, along with a little mystery. You can listen to these wonderful pieces below, played by the Maggini Quartet:

Published post no.2,763 – Saturday 10 January 2026