This was Britten's first work for piano and orchestra, which he premiered as the soloist at a Promenade Concert in 1938.
Dedicated to the composer Lennox Berkeley, the concerto is a bravura work that has gained more international attention in recent years.
[2] Boosey & Hawkes published the score of the concerto and estimated that it is 33 minutes in length.
The work is scored for 2 flutes (both doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (II doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, timpani, glockenspiel, cymbals, whip, bass drum, snare drum, tambourine, tenor drum, harp, and strings.
There is a significant cadenza, written with no clear time signature and only approximate bar lines, where glissandos are a key feature.
[6] Steven Osborne has recorded the work with Illan Volkov and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and the concerto has been performed several times at the BBC Proms by the pianist Leif Ove Andsnes.