Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34

E519998

fugue orchestral work set of variations

Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 is a 1945 orchestral work by Benjamin Britten that introduces and showcases the instruments of the symphony orchestra through a set of variations and a fugue on a theme by Henry Purcell.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra	1
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra	1
Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T5434667 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34
Context triple: [Benjamin Britten, notableWork, Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34]

A. Partita for Orchestra
Partita for Orchestra is a lively and colorful orchestral work by English composer William Walton, showcasing his rhythmic vitality and brilliant orchestration.
B. Essay for Orchestra No. 3, Op. 47
Essay for Orchestra No. 3, Op. 47 is a late orchestral work by American composer Samuel Barber, showcasing his lyrical style and rich orchestration in a single-movement symphonic essay form.
C. Symphony on G
Symphony on G is an orchestral work by American composer Lou Harrison that reflects his characteristic blend of Western classical forms with non-Western musical influences and innovative percussion writing.
D. Symphony in G
Symphony in G is a large-scale orchestral work by British composer George Dyson, noted for its lyrical Romantic style and rich, expansive scoring.
E. Essay for Orchestra No. 1, Op. 12
Essay for Orchestra No. 1, Op. 12 is a single-movement orchestral work by American composer Samuel Barber that combines symphonic development with the concentrated argument of a literary essay.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34
Target entity description: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 is a 1945 orchestral work by Benjamin Britten that introduces and showcases the instruments of the symphony orchestra through a set of variations and a fugue on a theme by Henry Purcell.

A. Partita for Orchestra
Partita for Orchestra is a lively and colorful orchestral work by English composer William Walton, showcasing his rhythmic vitality and brilliant orchestration.
B. Essay for Orchestra No. 3, Op. 47
Essay for Orchestra No. 3, Op. 47 is a late orchestral work by American composer Samuel Barber, showcasing his lyrical style and rich orchestration in a single-movement symphonic essay form.
C. Symphony on G
Symphony on G is an orchestral work by American composer Lou Harrison that reflects his characteristic blend of Western classical forms with non-Western musical influences and innovative percussion writing.
D. Symphony in G
Symphony in G is a large-scale orchestral work by British composer George Dyson, noted for its lyrical Romantic style and rich, expansive scoring.
E. Essay for Orchestra No. 1, Op. 12
Essay for Orchestra No. 1, Op. 12 is a single-movement orchestral work by American composer Samuel Barber that combines symphonic development with the concentrated argument of a literary essay.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	fugue ⓘ orchestral work ⓘ set of variations ⓘ
basedOn	theme by Henry Purcell ⓘ
catalogueNumber	Opus 34 ⓘ
commissionedFor	educational film about the orchestra ⓘ
composer	Benjamin Britten ⓘ
composerNationality	British ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United Kingdom ⓘ
dedicatedTo	children and young people ⓘ
educationalFunction	demonstrates individual orchestral instruments ⓘ demonstrates timbre of each orchestral section ⓘ
educationalUse	used in music education programs ⓘ used in school music curricula ⓘ
featuresInstrumentGroup	brass ⓘ percussion ⓘ strings ⓘ woodwinds ⓘ
firstPerformanceYear	1946 ⓘ
genre	educational music ⓘ orchestral variations ⓘ
hasAlternativeTitle	The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra ⓘ linked to: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34
hasKey	various keys (modulating work) ⓘ
hasSection	final fugue combining instruments ⓘ introduction of the theme by full orchestra ⓘ variations for each orchestral family ⓘ
hasTitleTheme	theme by Henry Purcell arranged by Britten ⓘ
intendedAudience	young listeners ⓘ
language	none (instrumental) ⓘ
movementType	fugue ⓘ theme ⓘ variations ⓘ
notableFeature	concludes with a grand fugue for full orchestra ⓘ each variation highlights a different instrument or section ⓘ
opusNumber	Op. 34 ⓘ
orchestration	full symphony orchestra ⓘ
period	20th-century classical music ⓘ
purpose	to introduce the instruments of the symphony orchestra ⓘ
structure	theme, variations, and fugue ⓘ
style	neoclassical elements ⓘ tonal ⓘ
subjectOf	concert performances worldwide ⓘ numerous recordings ⓘ
typicalDuration	approximately 17 minutes ⓘ
usesThemeFrom	Henry Purcell’s Abdelazer ⓘ linked to: Variations on a Theme of Purcell Rondeau from Abdelazer ⓘ
yearComposed	1945 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Benjamin Britten → notableWork → Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 ⓘ

Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 → hasAlternativeTitle → The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra ⓘ

linked to: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34

Abdelazer, or The Moor's Revenge → hasInfluenced → The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra ⓘ