Neel knew Britten from having conducted his film score for Love from a Stranger in 1936,[3] so he asked him to write a new work for a string orchestra.
[6] The Adagio represented Bridge's integrity; the March was his energy; the Romance his charm; the Aria Italiana his humour; the Bourrée his tradition; the Wiener Walzer his enthusiasm; the Moto perpetuo his vitality; the Funeral March his sympathy; the Chant was his reverence; the Fugue was his skill (it contains a number of references to other works by Bridge);[7] and their mutual affection appears in the Finale.
[3] Britten also imitated the styles of a number of composers such as Gioachino Rossini, Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky.
When it arrives it makes sense of everything that has gone before it, demanding that we start again from the beginning, hearing the work once more, this time with our ears alert.
In 1942 Colin McPhee, a close friend of Britten's, arranged the Variations for two pianos, to be used for Lew Christensen's ballet Jinx.
[5][9] In 1949, Arthur Oldham, the only private pupil Britten ever had, arranged the work for full symphony orchestra, for Frederick Ashton's ballet Le Rêve de Léonor.
[11][9] Hans van Manen created the choreography Frank Bridge Variations for the composition in 2005, for the Dutch National Ballet with set and costume design by Keso Dekker.